Plesac on journey toward 'emotional awareness'

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger's Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ANAHEIM -- Zach Plesac is ready to change the narrative of his career.

Plesac, who officially signed a one-year deal worth $1 million on Saturday, showed plenty of promise upon arriving in the big leagues, posting 3.32 ERA in 171 innings with Cleveland from 2019-20, only to register a 4.72 ERA over the last three seasons while also dealing with a few off-the-field incidents.

Plesac, though, said he’s worked on himself, including seeing a psychologist, and also believes being a new father has changed his perspective. The 28-year-old came off as affable in his Zoom interview with the media on Saturday, explaining he has to learn how to channel his emotions better on the mound and not let the results get to him as much.

“There’s a lot of good steps that I've taken,” Plesac said. “So I'm really just putting that stuff behind me and looking forward to a fresh start, and having a passionate and positive energy. Because if you see me outside the lines, I’m very positive and happy-go-lucky, but when the lights come on, it’s a different beast. So I’m learning how to channel that into a positive way.”

Plesac said he's grown since being sent home by his team in 2020 when he broke COVID-19 protocols, saying it’s something he’ll have to carry forever but he learned from it. He also described what happened with two injuries that have often been reported as self-inflicted. He called breaking his thumb while "aggressively" taking off his jersey in May 2021 a freak injury, while his emotions got the best of him when he punched the ground and fractured his hand during a start in late August 2022.

“I think that COVID situation kind of rolled into the thumb injury that ended up [happening] the following season,” Plesac said. “It kind of got grouped together, but that thumb injury kind of happened on a freak accident. I was taking off my jersey and it got caught on the chair and thought I jammed my thumb but it ended up being a fracture.

“And the next year, I think a lot of what happened is I just let a lot of negative energy kind of pile up into a release that happened on the mound. I'm just a very passionate person, especially about the game of baseball. When you're out and between those lines, you aren't the same person you are when you're outside the lines. I'm just a fiery, competitive type of person and I’m learning to have that emotional awareness.”

Angels general manager Perry Minasian, who often emphasizes the importance of clubhouse chemistry, said they did their due diligence on Plesac and asked several people from around the league for their opinions on him. They ultimately felt comfortable with what they heard and with the changes that Plesac has been making in his personal life.

“It's something we did a ton of work on,” Minasian said. “We asked a lot of questions. You do as much background as you can, and Zach is in a different place in his life. He's married now, he just had a baby [on Nov. 11]. This is a very motivated individual that's learned from his mistakes in the past and someone we believe is going to be very productive going forward.”

Plesac also gives the Angels some flexibility because he could be used as either a starter or a reliever. He also has a Minor League option remaining, so he can be sent down to Triple-A Salt Lake without having to be exposed to waivers. If he’s not part of the rotation, he could serve in a role similar to Jaime Barria, who was both a long reliever and spot starter for the Angels over the last two seasons.

Plesac spent time at Driveline in Seattle this offseason, working on his mechanics and developing a splitter. He said he’s currently training in Bradenton, Fla., but that he plans to head back to Driveline one more time before he goes to Spring Training.

“I think there's a chip on his shoulder with how things went last year,” Minasian said. “I know the work he's put in this offseason and some of the things he’s concentrating on, which I think will help propel him to becoming as successful, if not more successful, than he was in the past. So there’s a lot to like and he’s someone we felt like made sense and someone we took a shot on.”