Indians' Zach Plesac Thinks Media Coverage of COVID Rules Violation Was Unfair

Cleveland Indians pitcher Zach Plesac thinks the media coverage of his COVID-19 rules violation when the team was in Chicago last weekend is unjust. 

In a video posted on his Instagram page (h/t Tom Withers of the Associated Press), Plesac said he was hanging out with friends in a socially distanced manner Saturday night, and the media is portraying him in an unfair light. 

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Zack Meisel, the front office set up a car service to take Pleasac back to Cleveland after learning he violated team rules and MLB's health and safety protocols Saturday night by going out. 

Rosenthal and Meisel noted Plesac was isolated when the club learned of his violation and, along with the car driver, received point-of-care testing before the trip back to Cleveland. The right-hander was required to quarantine for 72 hours and receive daily COVID-19 testing. 

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Monday that Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger was out with Plesac, but he flew back to Cleveland with the team before it learned of his violation. 

Both players have been placed on the restricted list and have received widespread criticism for their actions, but some of it came from within their own organization. 

"I do believe in being accountable to your teammates," manager Terry Francona told reporters Tuesday. "And I know that they've got some trust to earn back and they're going to have to earn that back. And I don't know how easy that will be. If I did, I'd tell you. If I had the exact solution, I'd snap my fingers and we'd do it."

Cleveland hasn't reported any positive COVID-19 tests since returning home after Sunday's 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox.