After testing negative for COVID-19, right-hander Mike Clevinger for the Padres was on his way to New York. He wasn’t included on the roster for the Padres’ game versus the Mets in the Wild Card Series on Friday.
Reminding everyone that Clevinger is not eliminated from the playoffs or anything of the sort. In each playoff round, each team presents a fresh roster. In the event that they make it to the NLDS, he might rejoin the rotation. Uncertainty surrounds whether this is a result of a disease or is merely tactical.
On Wednesday due to a sickness, San Diego put Clevinger on the injured list. In a statement to reporters earlier this week, Melvin implied that his pitcher wouldn’t start in the wild-card round.
The Padres’ starting rotation against the Mets will consist of Yu Darvish in Game 1, Joe Musgrove in Game 2, and Blake Snell in Game 3. The best-of-three Wild Card Series gets underway on Friday night in New York. The Mets will host all three games if necessary for the series because they finished with the better record.
On Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants, Clevinger was supposed to make a brief start, but right-hander Nabil Crissmat, who was concurrently brought up from Triple-A El Paso, started in Clevinger’s place.
Clevinger, 31, has 114 13/3 innings of work under his belt this year with a 4.33 ERA (86 ERA+) with a 2.60 K/BB ratio. Those results fall short of his customary expectations in terms of run prevention and success at the command-and-control level. He missed time earlier in the season due to triceps and knee ailments, as well as COVID-19-related time on the IL.