Zach Plesac Free Agency: Los Angeles Angels to sign right-handed pitcher, per insider

As per reports, the Los Angeles Angels signed young pitcher Zach Plesac to their starting rotation. The Halos got the former Cleveland Guardians pitcher for a major league deal, although the terms have yet to be announced by both the club and the player.

Zach Plesac was selected in the 12th round of the 2016 draft by the Guardians. Making his way through the ranks, Plesac made his debut in 2019. His first two seasons were strong, as he pitched to a 3.81 ERA over 21 starts as a rookie. In the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, he had a 2.28 ERA over eight starts.

Cleveland Guardians Photo Day

But things started going downhill from there, as Plesac had a combined ERA of 4.49 over 49 starts in the next two seasons. Things got even worse for the right-hander when he barely managed to complete five starts with an ERA of 7.59.

He was sent back to the Triple As by the Guardians but even there he posted a 6.08 ERA over 94.2 innings.

As per stats, it doesn't seem to be a plausible option to sign Plesac to anyone's team. Even if they do, the terms of the contract should clearly start in the minors. But the Halos seem to be desperate to add depth to their faulty rotation, so they went ahead and signed the 29-year-old.

Zach Plesac can be a handy fifth or sixth starter

Losing Shohei Ohtani has left a major dent in the rotation for the Angels who are yet to sign an ace. The team used up 14 starters last year and still came up short of a winning season. If Plesac is to become a regular name in the rotation he will have to compete his way in.

Even though his strikeout rate over the last three seasons have been considerably low, Plesac walked just 6.2% over his worst 2021-22 seasons. This is handy enough for any team looking for a fifth or sixth starter.