Guardians’ RHP Zach Plesac is ‘on radar’ of Phillies

Cleveland Guardians’ RHP Zach Plesac “is on [the] radar” of the Philadelphia Phillies, according to Jon Heyman of Audacy Sports.

Plesac, 27, is 2-8 with a 4.09 ERA and a 4.18 FIP across 18 starts this season, which have spanned 99 innings. With uncertainty about when — and perhaps even if — Zach Eflin will return in 2022, Plesac would give the Phillies another mid-rotation option behind Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler.

What’s more, Plesac won’t even become eligible for arbitration until 2023, and can’t become a free agent until after the 2025 season. Having controllable arms in your rotation is always advantageous, especially when Kyle Gibson can become a free agent after the 2022 season and it feels increasingly unlikely that the Phillies will exercise their half of a $15 million mutual option on Eflin for next season.

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The Guardians are 50-48, just two games back of the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. Still, this is a franchise that’s been especially frugal — and it’s probably fair to just say cheap — in recent years. In a weak trade market, Mike Chernoff and the Guardians may see a chance to capitalize on Plesac’s controllability before he starts to get more expensive.

Earlier this week, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported that the Phillies “have signaled to other clubs that Andrew Painter, Mick Abel and Griff McGarry are not available.”

While Plesac doesn’t have a track record as a front-line starter, parts of four seasons of team control is pretty valuable. It will be interesting to see if Dave Dombrowski is able to acquire Plesac or someone with a similar profile while holding onto the top pieces in the farm system.

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