Padres sign RHP Mike Clevinger to two-year contract
Padres sign RHP Mike Clevinger to two-year contract

RHP Mike Clevinger

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres have signed right-handed pitcher Mike Clevinger to a two-year contract through the 2022 season, Executive Vice President/General Manager A.J. Preller announced today. The agreement replaces Clevinger’s two remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility and includes deferments and performance bonuses. Additionally, Clevinger is scheduled to undergo ulnar collateral ligament surgery (“Tommy John”) on Tuesday, November 17th. He is expected to miss the entirety of the 2021 season.

The 29-year-old posted a 2.84 ERA (6 ER, 19.0 IP) in four regular season starts for the Padres in 2020 after being acquired in a nine-player trade from the Cleveland Indians on August 31st. Between San Diego and Cleveland last season, the right-hander boasted a 3.02 ERA in eight starts with 40 strikeouts against 14 walks. Clevinger was diagnosed with a right posterior elbow impingement following his final regular season start on September 23 vs. LAA, and in his sole Postseason appearance in the 2020 National League Division Series on October 6 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was removed in the second inning after pitching a hitless, scoreless first.

Over parts of five Major League seasons between the Indians (2016–2020) and Padres, Clevinger has a 44–23 career record with a 3.19 ERA (192 ER, 542.1 IP), 1.19 WHIP and 603 strikeouts in 105 games (92 starts). He finished the 2020 campaign with the 5th-highest career winning percentage (.657) among all active ML starters (min. 50 GS), trailing only Walker Buehler (.727), Shane Bieber (.708), Max Fried (.703) and Clayton Kershaw (.697), and among all ML pitchers who have tossed at least 300.0 IP since the start of 2018, Clevinger’s 154 ERA+ ranks 6th behind Jacob deGrom (187), Hyun-Jin Ryu (179), Justin Verlander (172), Gerrit Cole (162) and Max Scherzer (155). The Jacksonville, Fl. native was originally selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 4th round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft from Seminole Community College (Sanford, Fla.).
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['Mike Clevinger', 'San Diego', 'San Diego Padres', 'Major League Baseball', 'MLB']