Padres' Mike Clevinger Will Start vs. Guardians Tuesday

The San Diego Padres will have its prized late-season 2020 trade acquisition on the mound for the first time in a Major League game in a year and a half on Tuesday.

Clevinger will face the team that traded him two seasons ago as the Padres head to Cleveland to meet the Guardians. The big strikeout specialist had Tommy John surgery after leaving the game following just two pitches into the second inning of his postseason debut for San Diego in October 2020.

Clevinger went 3 2/3 innings in his third rehab start on Wednesday and reported no issues, so it will be interesting to see how much rust is on the big man’s arm once he returns.

The 31-year-old put together back-to-back impressive seasons in Cleveland before getting shipped to the west coast. Clevinger had 169 strikeouts in 126 innings in 2019 after a 2018 campaign when he tossed 207 in 200 frames.

If healthy, he can be a reliable fantasy contributor for K’s and will boost San Diego’s staff in its World Series chase. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Friars with the 10th shortest odds at +1800.