SAN DIEGO (AP) Padres pitcher Mike Clevinger will miss the 2021 season because of Tommy John surgery, the team announced Monday after reaching agreement with the right-hander on an $11.5 million, two-year contract.
San Diego said Clevinger’s surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Padres acquired Clevinger on Aug. 31 in a blockbuster trade with Cleveland in hopes of leading the Padres deep into the playoffs. Instead, he exited his last start of the regular season with what was later described as an elbow impingement.
Clevinger missed the wild-card series against the St. Louis Cardinals, which San Diego won in three games, and then was removed in the second inning of the NL Division Series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers after his velocity dipped dramatically. The Padres were swept by the Dodgers.
Clevinger was 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in four starts with San Diego after going 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA with Cleveland in the pandemic-shortened season.
Dinelson Lamet, who finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting, also suffered an elbow injury in his final regular season start and missed the postseason.
Clevinger’s new deal replaces his two remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility and includes deferments and performance bonuses.
A right-hander who turns 30 on Dec. 21, Clevinger gets a $3 million signing bonus that is deferred, with $1.5 million payable on Dec. 1, 2021, and the remainder on Dec. 1, 2022.
Clevinger gets salaries of $2 million next season and $6.5 million in 2022 and can earn $500,000 in performance bonuses based on starts as a pitcher in 2022: $250,0000 each for five and 10. The bonus payments would be deferred Jan. 15, 2023, in the deal negotiated by agents Sam and Seth Levinson.
Clevinger earned a $1,518,519 prorated share of his $4.1 million salary this year. He is 44-23 with a 3.19 ERA in five major league seasons.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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