Padres right-hander Mike Clevinger is en route to New York ahead of San Diego's weekend's Wild Card Series versus the Mets after testing negative for COVID-19, manager Bob Melvin told reporters, including Dennis Lin of The Athletic. It remains unclear if he'll be a member of San Diego's initial postseason roster.
What is clear is that Clevinger is at least an option for the Padres now. San Diego placed him on the injured list on Wednesday because of an illness. Earlier this week, Melvin suggested to reporters that Clevinger would not receive a start in the wild-card round. Now that he's clear, he could presumably be in the bullpen mix again, with a chance to provide the Padres with some length if they so desire.
In terms of rotation against the Mets, the Padres figure to go with Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell in some yet-to-be-determined order. The Wild Card Series begins on Friday night in New York and is a best-of-three affair. The Mets, by virtue of finishing with the superior record, will host all three games, should the series necessitate it.
Clevinger had been slated to make an abbreviated start on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants, but instead right-hander Nabil Crissmat, who was called up from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move, made the start.
This season, Clevinger, 31, has pitched to a 4.33 ERA (86 ERA+) in 114 13/3 innings with a 2.60 K/BB ratio. In terms of run prevention and success at the command-and-control level, those numbers are shy of his usual standards. Earlier this season, Clevinger missed time with knee and triceps injuries and also spent time on the IL because of COVID-19.
