Padres acquire pitcher Clevinger from Indians
The contending San Diego Padres acquired Mike Clevinger in a multiplayer deal with the Cleveland Indians on Monday, bolstering their rotation with another bold move ahead of baseball’s trade deadline.
San Diego got Clevinger, outfielder Greg Allen and a player to be named from Cleveland for a package of young players that included outfielder Josh Naylor, right-hander Cal Quantrill and catcher Austin Hedges.
Led by exciting young shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and suddenly hot Manny Machado, San Diego is going for its first playoff appearance since 2006. The acquisition of Clevinger is the Padres’ fifth trade since Saturday.
Clevinger said the Padres are “the most exciting team in baseball by far right now. It’s definitely kind of the place to be right now. I’m stoked that they wanted me here. This is definitely a destination a lot of guys would like to be. Definitely something special brewing here and I think it’s going to be something special for coming years, not just this year.”
Clevinger said the Padres were already a World Series contender before all the trades.
“I think this is a team that can make a serious, serious run. I don’t think there will be many teams that will get in the way of what we’ve got right now,” said Clevinger, who hopes to join the Padres in time for a series that starts at Anaheim on Wednesday.
San Diego acquired veteran catchers Jason Castro and Austin Nola in a pair of deals Sunday, making Hedges expendable. First baseman Mitch Moreland came over in a trade with Boston, and the Padres added reliever Trevor
Rosenthal in a deal with Kansas City.
The 29-year-old Clevinger strengthens a rotation that has had a few stumbles lately, including Garrett Richards going two or fewer innings in consecutive starts and openingday starter Chris Paddack struggling before bouncing back with a strong performance Sunday at Colorado.
Clevinger went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts last year. The long-haired righthander nicknamed “Sunshine” also is contractually controlled through the 2022 season.
Cleveland is in the mix for the AL Central title, but Clevinger may have worn out his welcome when he was caught breaking COVID-19 protocols a couple weeks ago, leading to a trip to the team’s alternate training site.
Clevinger and teammate Zach Plesac left the team’s Chicago hotel, socialized outside the team’s “bubble,” missed curfew and caused a rift inside the clubhouse. Clevinger returned to Cleveland’s rotation Wednesday, pitching six effective innings in a victory over Minnesota.