Angels sign Zach Plesac (1 year, $1 million) - DFA Kolarek

[Angels 1961]

51 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Why does it matter?

On a minor league deal you do not have to drop someone from 40 man roster.

[Stradling]

23 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

On a minor league deal you do not have to drop someone from 40 man roster.

And with him you have to drop a guy that will clear waivers and can be added back to the system. If we suck then our 40th guy probably sucks. 

[Taylor]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

I see him as Barria's replacement. Which is dumb. But obviously they see something in him they like.

We know what Arte sees in him that he likes.

[tdawg87]

20 minutes ago, Taylor said:

We know what Arte sees in him that he likes.

Oh is he one of them

[Stradling]

Like Arte knows who he is. 

[Taylor]

2 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Like Arte knows who he is. 

Don't underestimate Arte's penchant for meddling.

[Stradling]

Just now, Taylor said:

Don't underestimate Arte's penchant for meddling.

So he meddles in Cleveland?  That explains it. 

[tdawg87]

So is this part of a bigger trade or something? Seems odd we don't have confirmation of anything. 

[Angels 1961]

56 minutes ago, Stradling said:

And with him you have to drop a guy that will clear waivers and can be added back to the system. If we suck then our 40th guy probably sucks. 

So your saying nobody wants players we put on waivers? You are probably right just like nobody would sign Pleasac to major league deal. This is just another Brett Phillips signing without details yet. 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

You know your Hot Stove is a Sterno can when Zach Plesac has 5 pages and is the most notable offseason acquisition!

[AngelsWin.com]

Around 10 PM on December 30th, Robert Murray broke the Angels 4th MLB roster transaction of the offseason, 28 year old right hander Zach Plesac.  Plesac wasn't a player very high on many people's radars - a large amount of his 2023 season was spent in AAA - which makes giving him a Major League contract even more perplexing.  Clearly, though, the Angels see something in him. Any baseball fan could look at his 7.59 ERA and label him as a lost cause, but the Angels saw something that they think could provide value in 2024.  Let's take a deeper look into who Plesac is and what they could have seen.

First off, the exact contract details haven't been revealed yet, but we can make a pretty educated guess based on Plesac's recent transaction history.  He was DFA'd on June 11th and cleared waivers, meaning no team wanted him for his $2.95M salary.  We can assume if the Angels wouldn't take that chance in June, they wouldn't give him that (or more), now. The minimum is $720K, meaning that Plesac's deal is more than likely between $720K and $2.95M a year.  If I was personally guessing, I would assume it's a 1 year deal worth something like $1.5 million.  Also, the term Major League deal doesn't mean he's tied to the bigs - he has 2 option years left so if he doesn't make a strong impression I would guess he starts in Salt Lake.

Diving into Plesac's stats, he hasn't been the worst pitcher in baseball over his career, far from it.  Since 2018, he has an above average ERA+, higher than that of former Angels Lucas Giolito, Andrew Heaney, and Alex Cobb. His 2020, although it was shortened, was exceptional, putting up a 196 ERA+ and 3.39 FIP across 55.1 innings. His 2019 was more complete and still respectable, with a 124 ERA+ over 115.2 innings.

His peripherals show both positives and negatives in his profile. He does a great job controlling the walk (terrible 2023 included), and he gets lots of swings on pitches outside of the zone.  The problem areas are, well, everywhere else. His best pitches are his off speed and breaking stuff, but his fastball - which he throws 40% of the time - isn't effective at all in terms of velocity or spin.  This leads to 1) lots of hard contact, 2) difficulty finishing off batters, and 3) Zach getting frustrated.  

Starting with contact, even at his best in 2020 Plesac's fastball was below average, leading to a 17th percentile finish in Barrel%. In his worse years, 2021-2023, he consistently finished at the bottom of the league in both Barrel% and Hard Hit%.  This has translated to 45 home runs allowed over the last 3 seasons,  in the top third of the league despite only throwing 21 innings in 2023. 

The biggest missing piece for Plesac seems to be his lack of K's. As stated before, he gets lots of chases out of the zone because of his solid breaking stuff. However, his fastball holds him back from becoming a high-volume strikeout pitcher. He's been near the bottom of the league in K% and Whiff% every year of his career except one - 2020.  It was the best year for his fastball (still not great), and his only above average year in getting strikeouts, which I don't think is a coincidence.  If I had to guess this is the key the Angels think they see - if they can get him to even a league average fastball he could be a solid rotation piece. 

Finally, his off the field stuff. Plesac's stellar 2020 was cut short because he was optioned by the Guardians after breaking curfew and violating Covid-19 regulations. In 2022 he broke his thumb punching the pitching mound, perhaps only surpassable in stupidity by when he broke his thumb in 2021 by "aggressively ripping off his shirt."  It seems like mostly short outbursts and a stupid decision during quarantine, but it's something to watch.

I think for the financial risk, this deal is nothing to worry about. I've seen people upset that it was a Major League deal, but I assume his role will be Triple-A depth starter and the type of contract was more of a tactic to get him to sign. The Angels process of  "low risk, high reward" applies here, but I'll add that given the track record of Angels pitching development, and Plesac's recent performance, I'll tamper my expectations on seeing that reward come to fruition. We'll see what Barry Enright and the new staff have in store for him come springtime.

 

 

 

 

View the full article

[Angels 1961]

With no major signings Plesac seems like a big head scratcher.  He has options and under team control for a few years. If he turns it around maybe becomes mid rotation pitcher. He also could be someone you may flip at deadline. Depth at AAA with nothing really lost. 

[Chuck]

Great first article, @CartiHalos!! 

[Angelsfan1984]

31 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

With no major signings Plesac seems like a big head scratcher.  He has options and under team control for a few years. If he turns it around maybe becomes mid rotation pitcher. He also could be someone you may flip at deadline. Depth at AAA with nothing really lost. 

You make points for why it’s a bad idea then why it’s a good idea in the same paragraph. Your brain is downright broken 

[Angels 1961]

1 hour ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

You make points for why it’s a bad idea then why it’s a good idea in the same paragraph. Your brain is downright broken 

Always 2 sides or opinions. This is a head scratcher and with out any big signings looks like a disappointment. Larger picture low risk could be high reward. I had a cousin who played in big leagues for many years. He was signed and after few years let go by Detroit Tigers. Someone in Twins organization saw something in him and he was signed. Someone believed in him and turned his career and life around. Same could be true of Plesac. For fans wanting a Snell, Belinger signing this looks like a nothing move and may end up being that. This also could be a big turn around for Plesac. 

[mmc]

4 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

Always 2 sides or opinions. This is a head scratcher and with out any big signings looks like a disappointment. Larger picture low risk could be high reward. I had a cousin who played in big leagues for many years. He was signed and after few years let go by Detroit Tigers. Someone in Twins organization saw something in him and he was signed. Someone believed in him and turned his career and life around. Same could be true of Plesac. For fans wanting a Snell, Belinger signing this looks like a nothing move and may end up being that. This also could be a big turn around for Plesac. 

Why do you just assume there won't be bigger signings?

[Deek]

44 minutes ago, mmc said:

Why do you just assume there won't be bigger signings?

Tradition mostly…

[cals]

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

Like Arte knows who he is. 

He’s heard of a Plesac, it’s a good name. 

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Let’s fill the clubhouse with lunatics.  

[Redondo]

5 hours ago, The Ghost of Bob Starr said:

Let’s fill the clubhouse with lunatics.  

I believe we've already tried that

[Inside Pitch]

14 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

So is this part of a bigger trade or something? Seems odd we don't have confirmation of anything. 

They likely have to make a roster move so they are waiting til the last possible second.

[Angels 1961]

Big signings could still becoming. Players coming off FA board daily.

[Chuck]

13 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

Around 10 PM on December 30th, Robert Murray broke the Angels 4th MLB roster transaction of the offseason, 28 year old right hander Zach Plesac.  Plesac wasn't a player very high on many people's radars - a large amount of his 2023 season was spent in AAA - which makes giving him a Major League contract even more perplexing.  Clearly, though, the Angels see something in him. Any baseball fan could look at his 7.59 ERA and label him as a lost cause, but the Angels saw something that they think could provide value in 2024.  Let's take a deeper look into who Plesac is and what they could have seen.

First off, the exact contract details haven't been revealed yet, but we can make a pretty educated guess based on Plesac's recent transaction history.  He was DFA'd on June 11th and cleared waivers, meaning no team wanted him for his $2.95M salary.  We can assume if the Angels wouldn't take that chance in June, they wouldn't give him that (or more), now. The minimum is $720K, meaning that Plesac's deal is more than likely between $720K and $2.95M a year.  If I was personally guessing, I would assume it's a 1 year deal worth something like $1.5 million.  Also, the term Major League deal doesn't mean he's tied to the bigs - he has 2 option years left so if he doesn't make a strong impression I would guess he starts in Salt Lake.

Diving into Plesac's stats, he hasn't been the worst pitcher in baseball over his career, far from it.  Since 2018, he has an above average ERA+, higher than that of former Angels Lucas Giolito, Andrew Heaney, and Alex Cobb. His 2020, although it was shortened, was exceptional, putting up a 196 ERA+ and 3.39 FIP across 55.1 innings. His 2019 was more complete and still respectable, with a 124 ERA+ over 115.2 innings.

His peripherals show both positives and negatives in his profile. He does a great job controlling the walk (terrible 2023 included), and he gets lots of swings on pitches outside of the zone.  The problem areas are, well, everywhere else. His best pitches are his off speed and breaking stuff, but his fastball - which he throws 40% of the time - isn't effective at all in terms of velocity or spin.  This leads to 1) lots of hard contact, 2) difficulty finishing off batters, and 3) Zach getting frustrated.  

Starting with contact, even at his best in 2020 Plesac's fastball was below average, leading to a 17th percentile finish in Barrel%. In his worse years, 2021-2023, he consistently finished at the bottom of the league in both Barrel% and Hard Hit%.  This has translated to 45 home runs allowed over the last 3 seasons,  in the top third of the league despite only throwing 21 innings in 2023. 

The biggest missing piece for Plesac seems to be his lack of K's. As stated before, he gets lots of chases out of the zone because of his solid breaking stuff. However, his fastball holds him back from becoming a high-volume strikeout pitcher. He's been near the bottom of the league in K% and Whiff% every year of his career except one - 2020.  It was the best year for his fastball (still not great), and his only above average year in getting strikeouts, which I don't think is a coincidence.  If I had to guess this is the key the Angels think they see - if they can get him to even a league average fastball he could be a solid rotation piece. 

Finally, his off the field stuff. Plesac's stellar 2020 was cut short because he was optioned by the Guardians after breaking curfew and violating Covid-19 regulations. In 2022 he broke his thumb punching the pitching mound, perhaps only surpassable in stupidity by when he broke his thumb in 2021 by "aggressively ripping off his shirt."  It seems like mostly short outbursts and a stupid decision during quarantine, but it's something to watch.

I think for the financial risk, this deal is nothing to worry about. I've seen people upset that it was a Major League deal, but I assume his role will be Triple-A depth starter and the type of contract was more of a tactic to get him to sign. The Angels process of  "low risk, high reward" applies here, but I'll add that given the track record of Angels pitching development, and Plesac's recent performance, I'll tamper my expectations on seeing that reward come to fruition. We'll see what Barry Enright and the new staff have in store for him come springtime.

 

 

 

 

View the full article

I merged the Plesac Signing Thread and Article from @CartiHalos into one thread. 

[Inside Pitch]

On 12/30/2023 at 10:48 PM, Chuck said:

Guys chill, I'm told this is just a depth move. 

I would rather have Plesac than Barria any day as a rotation fill in. 

Interesting how a team noted for finding/building pitchers saw fit to release one guy then sign the other.

They are somewhat similar, neither guy throws particularly hard but where Barria has seen his average FB velocity increase, Plesac is down 2 MPH from where it was in 2019.  And while both guys have outperformed their FIPs, only one of them (Plesac), has enjoyed consistently playing in front of an above average defense save for 2022 when both teams put up the same exact defensive efficiency and Barria finished the season with a 2.61 ERA.

The hard hit data is where they are vastly different, Barria has proven to be a soft contact guy, Plesac serves up missiles. Another difference Plesac has been better at keeping the ball on the ground, which again makes the defense a bigger factor. Barria is two years younger.  Neither one of these guys is anything special, but the only thing Plesac brings of value over Barria is the options. 

This is one of those times where familiarity breeds contempt.  People here know what Barria is/isn't, Plesac -- not so much.

[Inside Pitch]

18 hours ago, Docwaukee said:

the bullpen is terrible right now.   

It's certainly full of uncertainty.