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Mike Clevinger was removed from the San Diego Padres’ playoff roster yesterday. He was replaced by pitcher Dan Altavilla.
Clevinger started for the Padres in their Game 1 loss in the NLDS series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday after having pitched just one inning since September 13 due to an elbow impingement. Clevinger was removed from the game after just 6 batters, throwing only 10 strikes out of 26 pitches and walking 3 batters, with a substantial drop in velocity right before he was pulled. Clevinger is now ineligible for the NLCS as well, should the Padres make it that far, although they are now down 2-0 in the series after losing last night. San Diego will have to take three straight against the Dodgers to advance.
Clevinger was acquired by the Padres from the Cleveland Indians after he, and teammate Zach Plesac, were suspended and then demoted by Cleveland for their failure to abide by COVID-19 protocols while on a road trip to Chicago. Clevinger had put up a 12.2 bWAR over almost 450 innings from 2017-19, establishing himself as a legitimate top of the rotation starter, but the Indians appeared adamant about moving on from him after what was reportedly seen by the clubhouse as a betrayal of trust.
The Padres acquired Clevinger at the trade deadline, along with outfielder Greg Allen, in exchange for Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor, Cal Quantrill, Gabriel Arias, Joey Cantillo and Owen Miller. Clevinger was expected to head up the Padres’ rotation for their playoff run, but it appears now he won’t pitch again until 2021.