CLEVELAND — For the first time in nearly a month, Mike Clevinger will be back on the mound for the Cleveland Indians.
On Tuesday, Tribe president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti announced that the right-hander will be recalled by the Indians in time to make Wednesday's start against the Minnesota Twins.
Clevinger has been off of the team's roster since violating COVID-19 protocols during a road trip in Chicago earlier this month. On August 10, the Indians revealed the Clevinger violation and announced he would be quarantined and undergo additional testing. Clevinger then went from the Tribe's Reserved List to its alternate training site in Lake County.
Clevinger's violation came just one day after it was revealed that Tribe right-hander Zach Plesac had left the team hotel on a recent road trip in Chicago to visit friends and was sent back to Cleveland in a rental car. Plesac was also dispatched to Lake County with Clevinger.
According to multiple reports, Clevinger was out in Chicago with Plesac, but unlike his fellow teammate who drove back to Cleveland, Clevinger actually flew home with the club. ESPN says Clevinger actually took part in a team meeting about the Plesac situation and "defended" his teammate before his own situation was made public.
In a conference call with reporters, Antonetti said he talked to Plesac after the decision was made to have Clevinger start Wednesday. He essentially told Plesac that the club doesn't yet have an opportunity for him with the big league club.
"But as we all have seen time and time again, that can change very quickly," Antonetti added. "So it’s up to him to continue to pitch the way he’s capable of pitching, continue to put in work and be an option for us whenever we have the opportunity."
Clevinger is 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA in three starts this season.