The Cleveland Guardians have substantial pitching depth.
Beyond aces Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie, they have Cal Quantrill, Zach Plesac, and the injured Aaron Civale, not to mention Konnor Pilkington.
At 52-49, they are currently in contention, and actually are one game behind the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.
However, the Guardians may be flirting with the possibility of trading Plesac, as several teams are reportedly interested in his services.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the 27-year-old has quite the market.
“Guardians SP Zach Plesac is on radar of Phillies, who seek starter, CF and presumably pen. Other contenders seeking a SP: Yankees, White Sox, Twins, Cardinals, Dodgers, Jays, Brewers, Mariners (yep, most),” Heyman tweeted.
Guardians SP Zach Plesac is on radar of Phillies, who seek starter, CF and presumably pen. Other contenders seeking a SP: Yankees, White Sox, Twins, Cardinals, Dodgers, Jays, Brewers, Mariners (yep, most)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 29, 2022
We can probably eliminate the Yankees from the list of potential suitors, since they acquired former Oakland Athletics ace Frankie Montas.
Pitching Is At A Premium In MLB
However, most of the teams Heyman mentioned could really use a starter.
Plesac is closer to league average than truly impact arm, but he could be a fine addition to a contending team as a fourth or fifth member of the rotation.
He is currently sporting a 4.33 ERA in 104 innings, with a 17.7% strikeout rate and a 6.3% walk rate.
He is a career 4.03 pitcher and has three-and-a-half seasons remaining of cheap team control, making his acquisition cost considerable.
He could be a fine addition for the Mariners and Cardinals, as they both look for rotation upgrades and have lots of prospects to deal.
It’s unclear if the Guardians will actually trade Plesac, but it’s hard to see them passing if teams desperate for pitching enter a bidding war and offer a nice package for him.
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