Garrett Cleavinger

American baseball player (born 1994)

Baseball player

Garrett Cleavinger

Cleavinger with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2020

Tampa Bay Rays – No. 60
Pitcher
Born: (1994-04-23) April 23, 1994 (age 31)
Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.

Bats: Right

Throws: Left

MLB debut
September 17, 2020, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
(through July 5, 2025)
Win–loss record| 11–14
Earned run average| 3.43
Strikeouts| 182
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams

* Philadelphia Phillies (2020)
* Los Angeles Dodgers (2021–2022)
* Tampa Bay Rays (2022–present)

Garrett J. Cleavinger (born April 23, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.

## Amateur career

[edit]

Cleavinger attended Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas, graduating in 2012.[1] As a senior, he was first-team all-state, first-team All-Sunflower League, first-team all-area, Player of the Year, and named a Central Region All-American by Perfect Game.[2]

Cleavinger attended the University of Oregon and played college baseball for the Oregon Ducks. He served as the closer for the Ducks in 2015.[3] As a freshman in 2013, Cleavinger was 9–0 with a 1.24 ERA (2nd in the Pac-12 Conference) and two saves in 37 relief appearances (4th in the conference), and struck out 57 batters in 43+2⁄3 innings (averaging 11.7 strikeouts/9 innings, 4th-best in the conference).[2][4] He set an Oregon freshman records for appearances and earned run average (ERA), and held opposing batters to a .137 batting average (the lowest single-season mark by an Oregon pitcher in school history).[5] Cleavinger was named a freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger and the NCBWA (2nd Team).[2] In 2014, he was 3–2 with two saves and a 3.34 ERA in 35 relief appearances (leading the conference) while striking out 13.6 batters/9 IP (also leading the conference).[6] In 2013 and 2014, Cleavinger played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[7][8] In 2015, he was 6–2 with 9 saves (5th in the conference) and a 1.58 ERA in 37 relief appearances (5th), while leading the conference with 14.9 strikeouts/9 innings and allowing 4.5 hits/9 innings (4th).[9] Cleavinger played for the Ducks alongside future Phillies teammate, pitcher Cole Irvin.[10]

## Professional career

[edit]

### Baltimore Orioles

[edit]

The Baltimore Orioles selected Cleavinger in the third round of the 2015 MLB draft, and he made his professional debut with the Aberdeen IronBirds, posting a 6–1 record with a 2.19 ERA in 19 games.[11] Cleavinger spent 2016 with the Delmarva Shorebirds and the Frederick Keys, going a combined 7–3 with a 3.07 ERA in a career-high 76+1⁄3 innings pitched. He was a 2016 South Atlantic League (SAL) Mid-Season All-Star.[12] Cleavinger started 2017 with the Bowie Baysox.

### Philadelphia Phillies

[edit]

On July 28, 2017, the Orioles traded Cleavinger and Hyun-soo Kim to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Jeremy Hellickson.[13] The Phillies assigned Cleavinger to the Reading Fightin Phils. In 38 total games between Bowie and Reading in 2017, he posted a 2–5 record, a 6.00 ERA, and 59 strikeouts, in 54 innings.[14] In 2018, between Clearwater and Reading, Cleavinger was 1–1 with a 7.43 ERA, and 18 strikeouts in 13+1⁄3 innings.[14]

Cleavinger returned to Reading to begin 2019. There, he was 3–2 with a 4.35 ERA in 51+2⁄3 innings, as he had the worst walks/9 innings ratio in the Eastern League (5.9), the 4th-best strikeouts/9 innings ratio (14.5), and the 6th-best hits/9 innings ratio (5.6).[15] Cleavinger was added to the Phillies 40–man roster following the 2019 season.[16]

Cleavinger was first called up by the Phillies on September 8, 2020, but did not pitch before being sent back down.[12] Then, on September 15, he was promoted to the major leagues for the second time. Cleavinger made his MLB debut on September 17, against the New York Mets, at Citizens Bank Park.[17]

### Los Angeles Dodgers

[edit]

On December 29, 2020, Cleavinger was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team trade that sent José Alvarado to the Phillies and minor leaguer Dillon Paulson and a player to be named later to the Tampa Bay Rays.[18] On May 11, 2021, Cleavinger recorded his first career major league victory against the Seattle Mariners.[19] He pitched in 22 games for the Dodgers, with a 2–4 record and 3.00 ERA.[20]

### Tampa Bay Rays

[edit]

On August 1, 2022, Cleavinger was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor leaguer German Tapia.[21] He logged 13 appearances for Tampa Bay to close out the year, posting a 2.41 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched.

In 2023, Cleavinger worked out of Tampa Bay's bullpen, pitching in 15 games and recording a 3.00 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 12.0 innings of work. In a May 7 appearance against the New York Yankees, Cleavinger suffered a knee injury after tagging Aaron Hicks out in a rundown.[22] The following day, he was diagnosed with a torn ACL, an injury likely to end his season.[23]

## Personal life

[edit]

Cleavinger's uncle Matt McWilliams played in the Atlanta Braves organization.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Nightengale, Bobby (June 23, 2015). "Lawrence High product Garrett Cleavinger signs with Baltimore". ljworld.com. Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
2. ^ a b c d "2015 Baseball Roster #35 Garrett Cleavinger". goducks.com. Oregon Ducks. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
3. ^ "MLB Draft 2015: Garrett Cleavinger, Oregon Ducks closer, has 'late-inning major league potential'". oregonlive.com. OregonLive.com. June 5, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
4. ^ "2013 Pacific 12 Conference Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
5. ^ "Garrett Cleavinger - Baseball". University of Oregon Athletics.
6. ^ "2014 Pacific 12 Conference Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
7. ^ "#6 Garrett Cleavinger - Profile". pointstreak.com. Point Streak. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
8. ^ "#47 Garrett Cleavinger - Profile". pointstreak.com. Point Streak. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
9. ^ "Garrett Cleavinger Amateur, College, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
10. ^ "Oregon Ducks baseball: Garrett Cleavinger and Cole Irvin named preseason All-Americans – Eugene Daily News".
11. ^ Kubatko, Roch (June 9, 2015). "Orioles draft Oregon pitcher Garrett Cleavinger in third round (updated) | School of Roch". masnsports.com. MASN. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
12. ^ a b "Garrett Cleavinger Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
13. ^ Meoli, Jon (July 28, 2017). "Orioles acquire right-hander Jeremy Hellickson from Phillies for Hyun Soo Kim, more". baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
14. ^ a b "Garrett Cleavinger Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
15. ^ "2019 Eastern League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
16. ^ Lauber, Scott (November 20, 2019). "Phillies stockpile arms by adding four minor-league pitchers to 40-man roster". inquirer.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
17. ^ Byrne, Connor (September 17, 2020). "Phillies Outright Ronald Torreyes". mlbtraderumors.com. MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
18. ^ "LA nets prospect Cleavinger in 3-team trade". mlb.com. December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
19. ^ "Mariners 4, Dodgers 6 (Final Score) on MLB Gameday". MLB.com.
20. ^ "Garrett Cleavinger Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
21. ^ "Rays To Acquire Garrett Cleavinger From Dodgers". MLB Trade Rumors.
22. ^ "Rays' Garrett Cleavinger: Headed to IL with knee injury". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
23. ^ "Rays' Garrett Cleavinger: Diagnosed with torn ACL". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 8, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Garrett Cleavinger at Wikimedia Commons

* Career statistics from MLB · ESPN · Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet

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Tampa Bay Rays current roster

Active roster|

* 2 Yandy Díaz
* 6 Taylor Walls
* 10 Tristan Gray
* 11 Shane Baz
* 13 Junior Caminero
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Inactive roster|

* 17 Eric Orze
* 25 Curtis Mead
* 26 Kameron Misner
* 41 Logan Driscoll
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* 68 Joe Rock
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* \-- Joey Gerber

7-, 10-, or 15-day injured list|

* 7 Ha-seong Kim
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60-day injured list|

* 1 Richie Palacios
* 18 Shane McClanahan
* 31 Alex Faedo
* 39 Manuel Rodríguez
* 43 Hunter Bigge
* 64 Nathan Lavender

Restricted list|

* 5 Wander Franco

Coaching staff|

* Manager 16 Kevin Cash
* Bench 27 Rodney Linares
* Hitting 51 Chad Mottola
* Asst. hitting 40 Dan DeMent
* Asst. hitting 53 Brady North
* Pitching 23 Kyle Snyder
* Asst. pitching 92 Rick Knapp
* First base 9 Michael Johns
* Third base 4 Brady Williams
* Bullpen 33 Jorge Moncada
* Bullpen catcher 99 Misha Dworken
* Analytics coach 97 Jonathan Erlichman
* Field coordinator 46 Tomas Francisco

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