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Report: Cleveland Indians asking ‘crazy high’ price in return for Mike Clevinger in trade

The Cleveland Indians are looking for deals that extend their window of competitiveness with young talent.

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians dealt one of their starting pitchers, Corey Kluber, to the Texas Rangers in exchange for outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. and hard-throwing reliever Emmanuel Clase last Sunday, but could another front-of-the-rotation arm be on the move soon?

According to Robert Murray, formerly of The Athletic, teams have inquired about Clevinger’s availability on the trade market, but while there is interest from the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the hard-throwing right-hander, the Indians’ asking price is “crazy high.”

Clevinger enters the arbitration years on his contract this offseason and is under team control for the next three seasons before hitting the free-agent market.

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Over 97 games, including 84 starts, in his first four years with the Indians, Clevinger posted a 41-21 record (.661 winning percentage) with a 3.20 earned run average. In 500.2 innings of work, Clevinger has recorded 563 strikeouts against 193 walks allowed.

During the 2018 season, Clevinger registered a 13-8 record (.619 winning percentage) with a 3.02 earned run average in 32 starts. Clevinger struck out 207 batters in his 200 innings and made history in his final start before the playoffs when he became the Indians’ fourth pitcher to surpass 200 strikeouts in a single season.

No other team in MLB history had four pitchers reach 200 strikeouts in the same season.

Credit: Andy Clayton-King/AP
Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger throws to the Minnesota Twins in the first inning during a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019, in Minneapolis.

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Clevinger won at least 12 games in each of the last three years, including matching a single-season career high with 13 in 2019 despite missing the better part of two months with a back strain and ankle issues.

Clevinger was acquired for relief pitcher Vinnie Pestano in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels in 2014. Despite being at Class-A when the Indians traded for him, Clevinger quickly worked his way through the team’s minor-league system and joined the big-league club during the 2016 season.

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