Former Cleveland Guardians pitcher Zach Plesac signs one-year deal with Los Angeles Angels

It has been officially announced that Zach Plesac, who elected to become a free agent this offseason, has signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. For the former Cleveland Guardian, it's a major-league deal as well.

Plesac started the 2023 season in the Guardians rotation and only made five starts, compiling a 7.59 ERA, before he was designated for assignment following what became a tumultuous career with the team.

In 2019 and 2020, the Indians at the time figured they had a cornerstone pitcher in their rotation, as Plesac raced out to a 3.32 ERA and 140 ERA+ in the first 29 starts of his career. But declining performance and injuries - a few of which of his own doing - sent Plesac's career into a spiral. But Plesac has really always danced on the edge, with his advanced stats telling the story of a guy who was always outperforming his metrics.

A consistently declining strikeout rate certainly didn't help, and eventually, his stats caught up to the expected ones. This past year, the Guardians knew they had a plethora of young pitching talent ready to come up, and the organization was likely ready to give Plesac a fresh start elsewhere.

Back in 2020, Plesac and Mike Clevinger were suspended for breaking COVID protocols. In 2021, Plesac broke his right thumb after he "aggressively" ripped off his shirt in frustration after a bad start. And in September of 2022, Plesac broke his pitching hand punching the mound during another frustrating start against the Mariners. So you can see why Cleveland was ready to move on with the former 12th-round pick.