CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Major League Baseball did not find any wrongdoing by the Cleveland Indians during their investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by former pitching coach Mickey Callaway.
However, the commissioner’s office confirmed what the organization had already found from their own internal investigation.
“We could have done more to create an environment in which people felt comfortable reporting the behaviors they experienced, they witnessed, or they learned about,” Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “Obviously, that was a shortcoming for us. Their report confirmed that.”
According to Antonetti, MLB did not provide them with a copy of the report, or any specific details related to the investigation which included his time in Cleveland, with the New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels.
On Wednesday, MLB announced that Callaway was banned through the 2022 season as a result of their findings of misconduct.
Shortly after the announcement from the commissioner’s office, the Angels announced Callaway, who was placed on leave by the team during the investigation, was terminated.
As for the Indians, the team has engaged an independent third party to ensure that whatever took place during Callaway’s tenure as pitching coach with the team from 2013-2017 does not happen again.
“We need to make sure that we create an environment moving forward where, first and foremost, those behaviors do not happen, but to the extent that they do, that people always feel comfortable and safe reporting them,” Antonetti said.
Prior to Antonetti speaking with reporters, owner Paul Dolan issued a statement regarding the findings by MLB.
“We want to thank Commissioner Manfred and Major League Baseball for their diligent work on the matter involving Mickey Callaway, and we especially want to thank all of the people within the organization and across the industry who spoke with investigators and shared their experiences. As the Commissioner noted, sexual harassment has no place in any organization.
“In an effort to understand and learn from this experience, the Commissioner’s Office shared with us forward-looking recommendations based on insights they gleaned from the time Mickey Callaway was a member of our organization. While we were not provided with details of the report or of individual experiences or accounts, there was no finding against the Cleveland Indians related to the Callaway matter. At the same time, the information the Commissioner’s Office shared reinforces our own conclusion that we did not do enough as an organization to create an environment where people felt comfortable reporting the inappropriate conduct they experienced or witnessed.
“We have contracted with an external expert with extensive experience related to workplace culture and reporting practices to help strengthen the organization. We are dedicated to ensuring this work remains an ongoing organizational priority and look forward to working with them on best practices for education, training and reporting to accelerate our progress in these areas.”
No surgery for Plesac – The Indians got some good news regarding starter Zach Plesac and his broken right thumb.
“It’s going to be treated non-operatively,” manager Terry Francona said.
Plesac, who suffered the injury when he hit it on a chair while taking off his shirt, will be evaluated every 7-10 days and it will be at least three weeks until he can begin any type of throwing program, provided there are no setbacks.
“Other than it being broken, it was a pretty upbeat visit to the doctor,” Francona said.
One and done – Despite being shorthanded in the rotation, Triston McKenzie will be sent back to Columbus following his start Wednesday night.
“He’s going to go back after [Wednesday night],” Francona said. “I did tell him in a moment of lightness, I said, ‘Triston, you did an unbelievable job making adjustments that quickly.’ I wanted him to relax a little bit. I’d love for him to go out and attack the strike zone and have him not only help us win a game but be a really good development game for him.”
McKenzie was optioned Saturday after he walked five, including four in the fourth inning that ignited a 9-run outburst from the Twins in a 10-0 loss last Friday night.
Plesac’s injury forced their hand to bring him back for an emergency start.
“We will make a move after the game and send him [back] down, and he knows that,” Francona said.
Shorthanded – Plesac’s broken thumb and Mckenzie’s struggles have left the Indians in a bind with their rotation.
They need a starter Friday night as well as for one of the double header games Monday.
“We’re not ready to announce anything, and a reason being we need to see how we get through [Wednesday night],” Francona said. “We’ve certainly have had a lot of conversations and are trying to be as prepared as we can to make the best decision we can at the best time.”
Stretch time – The Indians plan to begin stretching out reliever Cal Quantrill in an effort to potentially move him into the rotation.
“We’ve tried to somewhat lengthen him out in his outings,” Francona said. “he’s never been a one inning reliever this year, up to this point.”
Francona recently spoke with Quantrill about how they can go about stretching him out without overextending him.
“The hardest pat for me is when you put a kid in the game and you get to a certain pitch number or a certain effort level and you think, ‘OK, now he’s not going to be available for this long and we may need a pitcher here,’” Francona said. “We just gotta make sure we keep that in mind, and we do, but it can be challenging.”