Inside The Phillies

Should Philadelphia Phillies Pursue Recently DFA'd Guardians Starter?

The Philadelphia Phillies still need a fifth starting pitcher. The Cleveland Guardians might have just given them a solution.

Regina Ham

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

It was a good weekend for the Philadelphia Phillies. They were able to end their losing slump during their weekend series against the Washington Nationals, taking two in a row after dropping the opening game on Friday night.

One of those wins came in Saturday's bullpen game. The other was left-hander Ranger Suárez's best outing of the season on Sunday. 

Saturday's bullpen game should've been someone from the Phillies starting rotation but they're still trying to find a reliable and healthy fifth starter. 

The Cleveland Guardians might have a solution. 

Right-hander Zach Plesac was designated for assignment by the Guardians. The move made room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Triston McKenzie to be activated from the 60-day injured list.

Plesac was sent down to Triple-A Columbus earlier in the season and it's been a rough 2023 for the 27-year-old after his Opening Day on the Guardians' roster.

Plesac is 1-1 with a 7.56 ERA and 1.97 WHIP in five Major League starts this season.

It's a sharp departure from his debut in 2019. His career started on an impressive note, with a solid 3.81 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 115.2 innings of work.

But 2021 and 2022 saw a departure from his success. Plesac was placed on the injured list twice with self-inflicted injuries. 

He missed significant time after breaking his thumb when aggressively taking off his shirt. Then in 2022, Plesac broke his hand punching the ground after giving up a home run in Seattle.

For Philadelphia, Cleveland's loss could be their gain. 

Already struggling to fill out a five-man rotation and regularly relying on bullpen games, the Phillies' postseason hopes could potentially be devastated by any long-term injury to one of their four healthy starters.

Plesac has shown flashes of being an effective end of the rotation arm. He’s a perfectly adequate up-and-down pitcher that could be someone Philadelphia could get for a low-risk flier to add depth to a thin starting rotation.

He'll be placed on waivers where other teams can claim him. If he goes unclaimed, the Guardians can outright him to the minors or release him. 

Plesac could also reject the outright assignment and opt for free agency as he has accumulated more than three years of MLB service time.

With the current state of the Philadelphia rotation, he'd likely see himself on the mound as a starter sooner rather than later. 

More From SI's Inside The Phillies:

Published
Regina Ham
REGINA HAM

Regina Ham is an editor and writer for Inside the Phillies. As an alumna of the University of Maryland-College Park, she studied both broadcast and multimedia journalism. A six-year veteran of the sports industry, she's worked in radio, television, and online media. You can follow her on Twitter @regina_ham or Instagram @reginamariesports.  Upon her undergraduate education, Regina went to work in 2016 for Sirius XM-Satellite Radio on College Sports Nation/ESPNU for two years.  During her time in school, Regina interned at a variety of Washington, D.C.-area media organizations, including NBC Sports Washington and WTOP. There she assisted in coverage of local MLB and NHL teams. She also interned down at WAAY 31 in Huntsville, AL and worked on stories regarding the local Minor League Baseball affiliate and SEC football.  Regina worked in international sports television for almost four years, covering sports from MLS to the KHL and the KBO. She joined Philly Sports Network in 2022 and covers both the Phillies and Philadelphia Flyers before joining the Sports Illustrated network in 2023.  You can follow her on Twitter @Regina_ham or on Instagram @reginamariesports. If you have any questions or comments, she can be reached at regina.ham28@gmail.com.

Home/News