*Photo from Gaslamp Ball*
The San Diego Padres announced on November 17 that RHP Mike Clevinger has signed a two year, $11.5 million contract to buy out his final two years of arbitration. The Padres also announced that Clevinger will undergo surgery and miss all of the 2021 season. The Padres were optimistic that Clevinger would be able to avoid surgery, but his arm injury persisted during rehab, and after being examined by at least 4 elbow specialists, Clevinger decided to have Tommy John surgery.
Padres GM AJ Preller said in a statement that "Everybody was in agreement that, rather than try and piece it together and get through the next season, I think he felt like, 'I want to go ahead and get this taken care of, have the procedure, and push toward the 2022 season, we were optimistic at various points in time in the process, especially earlier in the process when the season ended. As we went through the rehab process the last few weeks and he wasn't getting drastically better, he felt like the surgery was the best route."
Preller believes Clevinger's starting game one of the NLDS did not aggravate the injury, despite Clevinger having only thrown an inning before leaving due to injury. Preller said that "He felt he was going to be able to perform, our medical teams did. We put him out there and ultimately, he ended up coming off the field, walking off the mound. My guess is it was something in there when he went and took the mound that was going to happen at some point, had probably already happened."
Clevinger posted a 3-2 record in the short 2020 season with a 3.02 ERA in 8 starts this season, throwing 41 2/3 innings in the process. In Clevinger's 5 year career, he has a 44-23 record, with an ERA of 3.19 across 105 appearances, 92 of those being starts. Clevinger also has 542 1/3 innings under his belt in his career. Clevinger has spent his major league time with the Cleveland Indians and the Padres.
Clevinger had a very rocky 2020 season, starting off the year as the projected ace of the Indians rotation. He had a great start to the season, as advertised, until he and then-teammate Zach Plesac went out to a restaurant for dinner, violating the MLB COVID-19 protocols, and potentially putting dozens of teammates at risk. It was then found out that Clevinger lied to the team about the situation, as originally, they had thought it was only Plesac who went out. Clevinger and Plesac were then demoted to the alternate site temporarily.
After around a month, Clevinger was called back up, starting in two games for the Indians, before he was traded to the Padres in a massive 9 player trade at the deadline. Clevinger made 4 starts in a Padres uniform after being traded for, before he missed time with the arm injury that has led to the Tommy John Surgery that Clevinger has undergone, the second time in his career.
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