The Los Angeles Angels most recent addition to the team is former Cleveland Guardians right-hander Zach Plesac. Plesac joins the team as potential depth for the starting rotation, and he could be used as help out of the bullpen.
The Halos have been looking to add talent to their pitching staff this winter, as the transaction wire attests. All of their major league free agent signings this off-season (Plesac, Adam Kolarek, Adam Cimber, Luis Garcia) have been pitchers.
General manager Perry Minasian understands that no team can have enough arms. Plesac comes with more upside than most mere "depth pieces." Over his first four seasons in Cleveland (2019-22), Plesac went 25-26 with a 4.04 ERA, 345 strikeouts and 118 walks in 445.1 innings.
Last season was uneven, to put it charitably. The 28-year-old right-hander posted a 7.59 ERA with 15 strikeouts and five walks in 21 1.1 innings with the Guardians. He also had a 6.08 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 43 walks in 94.2 innings with Triple-A Columbus, and was outrighted off the 40-man roster in June.
Minasian told reporters how he plans to use Plesac in 2024:
“What he's done in the past, obviously '23 wasn't ideal for him and he'll be the first to tell you that, but he was productive in '22 and '21 and has been a productive pitcher throughout his Major League career,” Minasian said. “He’s made a significant amount of starts and could also help us in the bullpen.”
Using Plesac as both a starter and a reliever gives the Angels and new manager Ron Washington flexibility when healthy. A series of injuries derailed Plesac's progress in recent years. Curiously, the most damaging injuries were self-inflicted.
Two incidents in particular not only cost Plesac time better spent on the mound – it also cost him an agent. As the New York Post reported in Sept. 2022:
In a start at the end of August, Plesac gave up a home run to the Mariners’ Jake Lamb in the seventh inning, and was seen pounding on the ground in frustration after the pitch. The team announced he would be going on the injured list on Sept. 2, and CAA severed their relationship with him less than two weeks later – a “rarity” for any agency, according to [Post reporter Jon] Heyman.
It’s the second injury in as many years Plesac has suffered by his own hand. In 2021, after allowing five runs to the Twins, the pitcher suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb after “aggressively ripping off his shirt” out of frustration, per Guardians manager Terry Francona. He missed all of June with that injury.
The Angels and Plesac are hoping for a return to form, in whatever role is necessary.
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