Cleveland pitcher Zach Plesac heads to IL after injuring thumb 'aggressively' removing shirt

The Cleveland Indians had a worse weekend hosting the Minnesota Twins than some first realized. 

According to Mandy Bell of the official MLB website, starting right-handed pitcher Zach Plesac is headed to the injured list due to a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb that he suffered after he surrendered five runs (three earned) across just 3.2 innings of work in Sunday's loss to Minnesota. 

"He was, I think, probably rather aggressively ripping off his shirt," manager Terry Francona explained about Plesac's setback while adding the pitcher accidentally caught his thumb on the chair at his locker. "He called [athletic trainer] James Quinlan, and James called me. It was pretty swollen yesterday. … As you can imagine, our wheels started to turn." 

The 26-year-old is set to meet with a hand specialist Wednesday. It's unknown if he'll require surgery to repair the issue.

Plesac holds a 4-3 record on the season with a 4.14 ERA. His absence leaves a significant gap in the rotation, and Cleveland may recall either Triston McKenzie or Logan Allen from Triple-A Columbus. 

Also over the weekend, slugger Franmil Reyes was lost for at least five weeks because of an internal oblique strain.