Pirates send Clevinger to the minors in final roster cuts
BRADENTON, Fla. — Mike Clevinger’s career reset with the Pittsburgh Pirates is going to start in the minors.
The club reassigned the veteran right-handed pitcher to minor league camp on Monday. The 35-year-old, who agreed to a minor league deal with Pittsburgh in early February, went 1-0 with a 5.02 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14.1 innings during spring training, starting in two games and serving as a reliever in two others.
Clevinger is 60-44 with a 3.55 ERA across nine seasons with Cleveland, San Diego and the Chicago White Sox. He has dealt with injuries in recent seasons and struggled with the White Sox last spring after being moved to the bullpen. He bounced back after returning to the rotation with Triple-A Charlotte. Clevinger went 7-3 with a 4.20 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 22 starts in the minors last summer.
The Pirates have a young rotation led by reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, veteran Mitch Keller, rookie Bubba Chandler, who went 4-1 during a stint in the majors at the end of last season and Braxton Ashcraft.
Clevinger was eyeing a spot either at the back end of the rotation or as a long reliever. Pittsburgh instead went with Carmen Mlodzinski as their fifth starter and Jose Urquidy and Hunter Barco in middle-inning relief roles.
Clevinger’s best days came with Cleveland from 2017-19, when he was 38-18 with a 2.91 ERA.
Barco, a rookie, gives the Pirates three left-handers out of the bullpen. Mason Montgomery, who was acquired from Tampa Bay in the Brandon Lowe trade, and free agent signing Gregory Soto are the other two lefties.
All five Pirates starting pitchers are right handed.
The Pirates finished spring training with a 5-2 loss against the Atlanta Braves Monday in Bradenton. They finished with a 17-13 record in the Grapefruit League.
Skenes is scheduled to start on Thursday when the Pirates open the season in New York against the Mets.