Zach Plesac Hurt His Thumb Taking Off His Shirt: The Indians Only Have Two Starting Pitchers Now

What was supposed to be the anchor of Cleveland's organization has diminished over the first few months of the season as the Indians now only have two MLB-caliber starting pitchers on their roster.

Zach Plesac Injury

On Tuesday afternoon, starting pitcher Zach Plesac was placed on the 10-day injured list after an x-ray showed a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb.

Indians manager Terry Francona said that Plesac was "rather aggressively ripping off his shirt" and it got caught on a chair at his locker.

Yes. This is, in fact, the same organization that lost a pitcher during a playoff game due to a bloody finger injury that happened while repairing a drone. Do they rename the team the Cleveland Appendages? That's a sidebar for another time.

The Indians now only have two bonafide starting pitchers on their roster: Cy-Young winner Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale. The team now needs starting pitchers for Wednesday's game versus the Tigers, Friday versus the Blue Jays, and one of the games in Monday's double header against the division-leading Chicago White Sox.

Next Man Up?

While the Indians have options, none of them seem all that appealing.

The Tribe quite literally just optioned top-pitching prospect Triston McKenzie back down to AAA on Sunday. His 6.95 ERA was hurting the club and his confidence more than helping it.

24 year-old Sam Hentges has made three starts this season but his 6.20 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched isn't anything to write home about, either.

Cal Quantrill will likely get a start in one of these upcoming necessary games. He's pitched almost 24 innings of relief in 16 appearances and posts a 1.90 ERA.

Holding On By A Thread?

The Indians certainly aren't known for their offense, which currently ranks 28th in the MLB, just two places away from dead last.

Somehow, the Tribe are just a game and a half out of of first place in the American League Central. They have an important three-game series with the first-place White Sox at the beginning of next week. The Royals, who have won six out of their last 10 games, are creeping back up the standings too.

Depending how serious this t-shirt, thumb injury turns out to be, the Indians could be in some serious trouble when Bieber and Civale aren't pitching.