The San Diego Padres added another veteran starter to their collection on Sunday, acquiring lefty Sean Manaea from the Oakland Athletics as part of a four-player trade. Manaea's presence may end up offsetting the loss of another one of San Diego's pitchers, at least in the near term. That's because right-hander Mike Clevinger will likely begin the season on the injured list, according to MLB.com's AJ Cassavell.
Clevinger, who missed the entirety of the 2021 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, has been hampered by knee soreness after his first outing. New Padres manager Bob Melvin told Cassavell the following: "It felt like we were kind of in a rush job with him to begin with. So it allows us to kind of smooth things out, slow it down."
Clevinger, 31, had developed into a high-quality starter prior to his injury. In 61 starts between 2018-20, he compiled a 2.91 ERA (153 ERA+) and a 3.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Padres acquired Clevinger from the Cleveland Guardians at the 2020 trade deadline in exchange for a six-player package that included catcher Austin Hedges, infielders Gabriel Arias and Owen Miller, outfielder Josh Naylor, and pitchers Cal Quantrill and Joey Cantillo. (The Padres also obtained outfielder Greg Allen and pitcher Matt Waldron in that trade.)
Clevinger is scheduled to reach free agency at the end of the season, suggesting he should want to be as close to 100 percent as possible before he takes his first start.
With Clevinger likely unavailable to begin the season, the Padres could open with a starting five that includes Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Manaea, and free-agent signing Nick Martinez, who agreed to terms on a four-year contract worth more than $25 million after a four-season stint in Japan.
