Mike Clevinger’s Actions Have Severely Complicated His Place in the Indians’ Clubhouse

The Cleveland Indians as a team are in trouble after this past weekend's games in Chicago, as the team had two starting pitchers go out without permission, putting themselves and the rest of the team at risk. Zach Plesac was sent home on Sunday, and Mike Clevinger never told the team he was in that group, and flew home Sunday with the team. His actions have put the team at serious risk.

What do the Cleveland Indians do with Mike Clevinger?

It’s a question I asked myself upon hearing Monday night’s news. Upon hearing that Clevinger joined fellow starter Zach Plesac for a night out in Chicago Saturday, breaking MLB health and safety protocols.

That Clevinger failed to admit he did as much even after Plesac was sent home to quarantine.

That he hung out in the clubhouse and flew back to Cleveland with teammates Sunday before being exiled, as well.

So, I ask again -- what does Cleveland do here?

One day later, I still don’t know the answer. All I do know is Clevinger made a massive mistake, and there’s no denying the fact it’s significantly complicated his place in the clubhouse.

We can’t ignore Plesac in this situation. He, too, left the team hotel Saturday night knowing very well doing so was a violation. He also did so knowing MLB is still struggling to get the St. Louis Cardinals back on the field due to an outbreak within their clubhouse.

So, no, Clevinger isn’t alone in this. Plesac owed his team an apology for his actions and, to his credit, he issued one.

At the time of this writing, Clevinger hasn’t done so. It’s one of many reasons why his actions should be far more concerning to the Indians than those of his rotation mate.

The biggest, though, is the fact he blatantly broke the trust of his teammates, and then doubled down on it.

One would think this is something Clevinger takes seriously. After all, he said as much just a couple weeks ago.

“Having that trust in your teammates is a big thing,” Clevinger told Zack Meisel of The Athletic. “It’s a big thing on the field. If you feel your teammate doesn’t trust you off the field, how are you going to feel like he trusts you when you get between the lines?”

It’s a great question, and it’s now one Clevinger has to answer himself in order to win back the respect of his team.

Sure, he can apologize, admit that he made a dumb move. He can explain how he’s learned from his mistake, vow to do better.

If you’re his teammate, do you believe him?

I’m not trying to stir the pot, I’m just asking an honest question. How do you trust Clevinger, who broke protocol with the knowledge that doing so could put the whole club in jeopardy?

How do you trust someone who watched his own teammate get punished for the exact same blunder, yet not find that as a reason to fess up? Heck, not only did Clevinger refuse to see Plesac’s punishment as a reason to admit his mistake, he reportedly defended him.

Hear Indians starter Mike Clevinger sat through a team meeting yesterday and defended Zach Plesac knowing he’d been out with Plesac, then flew back with the team. Now, the Indians discover Clevinger was out with Plesac and so they have appropriately quarantined Clevinger.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 10, 2020

How do you trust someone who did this, then continued hanging around the locker room and flew home with you, doing so despite the fact another of his fellow starters -- Carlos Carrasco -- has been diagnosed with leukemia?

If you’re sharing a clubhouse with Clevinger, do you trust him to make the right call after this whole ordeal?

Again, I can’t speak for any Cleveland players. However, there’s no denying the fact Clevinger’s next steps into the locker room are going to be awkward at best.

With that in mind, you have to wonder if the front office is going to consider additional steps here.

I don’t think Cleveland needs to immediately explore the trade market, aiming to jettison its starting pitcher as soon as it can. There’s a giant mess for Clevinger to clean up, and he at the very least needs to be given an opportunity to do so.

That said, if this becomes a larger issue, if Clevinger’s teammates have decided he went too far by letting Plesac face all the blame Sunday despite being his partner in crime, the front office’s hand may be forced.

The trade deadline is only a few weeks away. If what Clevinger did has created a clubhouse situation damaged beyond repair, Cleveland will have to act quickly.

Extreme as it may sound, there’s no denying Clevinger's actions were far more consequential than Plesac’s.

He already has no excuse when it comes to breaking protocol. Regardless of your thoughts on the pandemic surging through the country, any player who opted in for this season did so knowing what rules would be in place.

However, to watch your teammate take all the blame, to defend him as he got sent home, to continue hanging around the clubhouse with the knowledge you, too, need to be quarantined, that’s a mistake that can severely alter your place on the team. So much so that it could have Cleveland seeking a new locker room for you to join.

It’s certainly not a conversation you’d expect the Indians to have this early in the season. I’m personally only a couple months removed from saying there was no reason to consider trading Clevinger at all this year.

Yet, credit where credit is due, he may have discovered one on his own.