CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona said starting pitcher Zach Plesac, who was placed on the 15-day IL Friday before his scheduled start against the Mariners, will wear a split on his injured right hand and be re-evaluated in “about a week.”
The Guardians believe the injury was the result of him punching the ground after giving up a home run in his last start Monday, August 29th, against the Seattle Mariners.
Plesac conducted a zoom call with Dr. Thomas Graham, a world-renowned orthopedic hand surgeon, before the Guardians 6-1 loss to the Mariners Friday night. The conference call confirmed what the Guardians had initially suspected, that Plesac suffered a non-displaced fracture.
“I think the thing that’s, I don’t know if delicate is the right word, but they want to make sure that they don’t give him too much activity and it would become displaced, that wouldn’t be good,” Francona said.
Plesac has pitched to the tune of a 3-11 record with a 4.39 ERA this season but has been consistently victimized by poor run support. The Guardians have scored one run or fewer in 15 of Plesac’s 23 starts.
It’s the second time Plesac has suffered an unorthodox injury, after he fractured his right thumb last season while “aggressively ripping off his shirt.” Plesac caught his thumb on a chair, which caused a non-displaced fracture.
As a result of Plesac’s sudden stint on the IL Friday, Cody Morris was thrust into his first career start against the Mariners. He pitched just 2.0 innings, allowing 4H, 3E, 2ER and surrendered a home run while striking out three batters.
The Guardians will once again have a rookie on the mound when the three-game series continues Saturday as Xzavion Curry makes a spot start in place of the injured Aaron Civale, who was also placed on the IL Friday because of forearm inflammation.
Curry made his MLB debut on August 15th against the Detroit Tigers.