Indians' Mike Clevinger Joins Zach Plesac in Quarantine for Violating Protocols

The Cleveland Indians reportedly will be without another one of their starting pitchers in the immediate future because of COVID-19 protocol violations.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Indians scratched Mike Clevinger from his Tuesday start against the Chicago Cubs and placed him in quarantine because he went out with teammate Zach Plesac on Saturday night.

Ken Rosenthal and Zack Meisel of The Athletic previously reported the Indians sent Plesac home following his violations of protocol. 

Mandy Bell of MLB.com shared the team's statement revealing Clevinger violated rules during the road trip:

As for Plesac, he issued an apology:

"I would like to apologize to my teammates, the entire Cleveland organization and all our fans for my actions Saturday evening. I realize I made a poor choice to leave the hotel, which broke protocols and could have endangered other people. I understand that in these times of uncertainty, I need to be more vigilant and responsible and I am determined to earn my teammates' forgiveness and get back to work."

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Clevinger defended Plesac in a team meeting on Sunday and then flew with his team before the Indians found out he was with his teammate outside of the hotel.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted Major League Baseball has hired security guards to station at team hotels to make sure protocols are followed, which may have contributed to the Indians pitchers being caught.

The league is surely looking to avoid any more outbreaks within teams, which is what happened with the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. Both have seen a number of games postponed, which will make it all the more difficult for them to finish the shortened 60-game season.

Given his recent efforts, Cleveland will miss Clevinger while he is quarantined.

He has a 3.24 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in 16.2 innings this year after posting a 2.71 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 169 strikeouts in 126 innings last year. He is a key part of the team's starting rotation that has kept it in games even when the offense struggled.