The news Thursday regarding Padres right-hander Mike Clevinger was that he was en route to New York after testing negative for COVID-19. Friday, he was left off the roster for the Padres Wild Card Series against the Mets anyway.
As a reminder, this doesn't mean Clevinger is out for the playoffs or anything like that. Each team submits a new roster each round of the playoffs, so it's possible he could re-join the rotation if they advance to the NLDS. It's unclear if this is due to any malady or if it's simply strategic.
San Diego placed Clevinger on the injured list on Wednesday because of an illness. Earlier this week, Melvin suggested to reporters that his pitcher would not receive a start in the wild-card round.
In terms of rotation against the Mets, the Padres will start Yu Darvish in Game 1, with Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell ready for the following two games. 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, he missed time with knee and triceps injuries and also spent time on the IL because of COVID-19.
