Indians' Plesac won't need surgery after breaking thumb removing shirt

DETROIT — Cleveland Indians righty Zach Plesac was put on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, the result of breaking the thumb on his pitching hand while yanking off his undershirt after a rough outing. Plesac will not need surgery, the Indians announced Wednesday. "Other than it being broken, it was a pretty upbeat visit to the doctor," Indians manager Terry Francona said. Francona said Plesac will be reassessed every seven to 10 days and is expected to begin a throwing regimen in three weeks. "After that, there's so many variables," Francona said. According to Francona, Plesac hurt himself while "rather aggressively taking off his undershirt" after Sunday's start at Minnesota. Plesac started the game with three perfect innings, but gave up five runs in the fourth inning and was taken out with two outs in the inning. "I think he caught it on a chair," Francona said before Tuesday's game at Detroit. "It was pretty swollen yesterday, so we sent him for X-rays last night and got them back about the sixth inning." Plesac was driven from Detroit to Cleveland on Tuesday evening, then traveled to Dayton to see Dr. Thomas J. Graham. Plesac, who is 4-3 with a 4.14 ERA in 10 starts, was placed on the restricted list in August for violating team COVID-19 protocols. The Indians' roster has taken quite a few hits this month. Right-hander RHP Triston McKenzie, who walked an AL-high 30 in 31 1/3 innings, was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Saturday. One of the organization's top prospects, the 23-year-old McKenzie went 1-3 with a 6.89 ERA and 44 strikeouts in seven starts and one relief appearance. Slugger Franmil Reyes will be out for between five and seven weeks because of an internal oblique strain after getting hurt last weekend in Minnesota. Catcher Roberto Pérez had surgery for a broken right thumb earlier this month, and is on the 60-day injured list.