The San Diego Padres will soon get a major part back, as starting pitcher Mike Clevinger will have his first game of the 2022 season on Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Clevinger hasn’t started a single game in MLB since 2020, missing the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The 31-year-old made his final appearance for the Padres in post-season 2020. Clevinger started Game 1 of the NLDS 2020 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, throwing only one inning.
Fittingly, Clevinger will return from injury in a game against his former team in the Guardians, an opportunity the five-year veteran enjoys.
“That would be the dream,” Clevinger said earlier this week about the possibility of facing Cleveland in the first comeback. “I’ve marked that on my calendar since pre-season, ever since the fixture dropped.”
After spending his first four seasons with Cleveland, Clevinger was transferred to San Diego in August 2020 with several prospects, including Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor and Cal Quantrill. Since this deal, Clevinger has had four main catches for the Padres, going 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 19 innings.
Clevinger compiled a 44-22 record with a 3.20 ERA in 88 starts for Cleveland. During five seasons in the MLBClevinger is 44-23 with an ERA of 3.19 in 92 starts.
