The Cleveland Indians Sent Starter Zach Plesac Home After He Left the Team Hotel in Chicago

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Zach Plesac is off to a great start this season.  He has a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings of work with 24 strikeouts.  On Sunday he was sent home.

The reason the Indians sent their young starter packing is because he left the team's hotel in Chicago on Saturday night for a night out with friends.

That broke their COVID-19 protocols and they reportedly made him drive the five hours back to Cleveland.

Can confirm that the Indians sent home starter Zach Plesac after he violated team rules by leaving the hotel to go out in Chicago, as The Athletic reported. Cleveland has been extremely stringent with protocols, and this action is a warning to their players — and perhaps others’.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 9, 2020

Around baseball, teams have a sense of which others are doing the best with coronavirus protocols — often based on how they’re treated on the road. The Indians are universally respected for their vigilance. And sitting a pitcher as good as Plesac illustrates how serious they are.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 9, 2020

This comes just a few days after Plesac took to Instagram with a pro-mask message.

Zach Plesac posted a pro-mask message just 6 days before going out yesterday in Chicago with friends in violation of MLB’s special #COVID19 safety protocols. pic.twitter.com/02zBNWchwM

— Resist Programming 🛰 (@RzstProgramming) August 9, 2020

On Sunday the 25-year-old righthander released an apology asking his teammates and the Indians organization for forgiveness.

Zach Plesac, 25, apologizes and asks for forgiveness from teammates and Cleveland organization. https://t.co/myr2b5fCSt

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 10, 2020

It will be interesting to see what the Indians end up doing with Plesac.  It's hard to believe that he won't eventually be back with his teammates.  I've seen everything from a 72 hour quarantine to being sent down to the currently nonexistent minor leagues.

We'll see.  But I can assure you he won't be doing any dumb shit when he returns.