Indians Number Two Starter Zach Plesac Suffers Thumb Injury In Bizarre Accident With Shirt

The Cleveland Indians have had their share of injury headlines this offseason. The team has since tried to get and stay healthy overall so that they can make a run in the AL Central, a division they won last year before bowing out to the Yankees in the AL playoffs.

If there's one position the team considers a strength, it's their starting pitching.

Even with the team making trades to rebuild their starting nine and farm system, the team has still stayed in the mix, and a lot of that has to do with the emergence of last year's Cy Young winner Shane Bieber.

Another pitcher on the roster who has emerged as an up and coming star at just 26 years old is Zach Plesac, who in three seasons as a starter for the Indians is 16-11 with a 3.59 ERA.

He's been a surprise. He has stepped up, and the team has been able to count on him to pitch well and to eat up some innings.

This season he's started 10 games already, throwing 58.2 innings (just under six innings a start.)

On Tuesday though, Plesac was the victim of a rather bizarre accident that is going to keep him out of action for a while.

According to manager Tito Francona, the pitcher was "rather aggressively ripping off his shirt," and in the process suffered a non-displaced fracture of his right thumb, which will sit him for a while.

It's been a bit of a tough week or so for Plesac, who struggled in his last start on Sunday at home against the AL Central rival Minnesota Twins. He lasted just 3.2 innings, allowed five runs (three earned) and struck out just one in the eventual 8-5 10-inning setback.

You have to admire Plesac's desire to get better, but if there's one area of his body he's got to be careful of, it's his fingers and hands.

It always seems like the Indians come out smelling like roses when a pitcher gets hurt - but with youngsters like Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen as the backups, it might be a tough go for a while for the Indians.