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Padres acquire pitcher Mike Clevinger from Indians

Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger is headed to the Padres.
(Tony Dejak / Associated Press)

Padres land right-handed starter Mike Clevinger from the Cleveland Indians in their fourth deal in less than 30 hours.

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The Padres are leaving no doubt they are all in.

Their fifth move in two days was to get starting pitcher Mike Clevinger from the Cleveland Indians.

The Padres will send No. 7 prospect Gabriel Arias, No. 9 prospect Joey Cantillo, major league pitcher Cal Quantrill, outfielder Josh Naylor, catcher Austin Hedges and minor league infielder Owen Miller. They also got outfielder Greg Allen, the former Hilltop High and SDSU star, and a player to be named after the season.

This comes two days after they added Trevor Rosenthal to the back end of their bullpen Saturday and designated hitter Mitch Moreland and catchers Austin Nola and Jason Castro and reliever Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla on Sunday.

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After all those, Padres General Manager A.J. Preller would not be denied. Even when the Indians told him they were moving on, he would not stop in his pursuit of an arm to put at the front of his rotation.

The deal as of early Sunday evening centered around Arias, Quantrill, Naylor and Hedges. It isn’t clear how the final pieces in the nine-player deal came together, but the Padres clearly upped their offer.

Clevinger has a 2.97 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over the past four seasons. That includes a 3.18 ERA in four starts (22 2/3 innings) this season.

His 2.97 ERA since ’17 ranks sixth in the majors among pitchers who have thrown at least 450 innings.

The 29-year-old right-hander is not due to be a free agent until after the 2022 season. Team control beyond this year was a significant component in any deal for starting pitching.

Clevinger did not pitch for three weeks after the Indians optioned him to their alternate site after he broke the team’s health protocols by going out while the Indians were on the road.

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He was recalled and allowed two runs on eight hits in six innings against the Twins on Wednesday. That means he could pitch for the Padres on Wednesday in Anaheim.

Any further deals the Padres make before the 1 p.m. PT deadline — and that can’t be ruled out, as they still seek bullpen help — would be anticlimactic.

What they have done so far has added at least seven new faces to the active roster, plus another they expect to be there soon. They did that by spending from their considerable reserve of prospects. In a span of slightly more than 40 hours, they traded away four of their top 11 prospects but none of the top four (pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patiño, infielder CJ Abrams and catcher Luis Campusano). A summary of who’s coming and going:

To Padres (9)

RHP Trevor Rosenthal

DH/1B Mitch Moreland

C Jason Castro

C Austin Nola

RHP Dan Altavilla

RHP Austin Adams

RHP Mike Clevinger

OF Greg Allen

Player to be named

Leaving Padres (15)

OF Edward Olivares (No. 20 prospect)

IF Hudson Potts (No. 16 prospect)

OF Jeisson Rosario (No. 19 prospect)

RHP Gerardo Reyes

OF Taylor Trammell (No. 5 prospect)

IF Ty France

C Luis Torrens

RHP Andres Munoz

1B/OF Josh Naylor

C Austin Hedges

RHP Cal Quantrill

IF Owen Miller (No. 11 prospect)

IF Gabriel Arias (No. 7 prospect)

LHP Joey Cantillo (No. 9 prospect)

Player to be named

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