As the No. 4 starter in the rotation, Mike Clevinger being included on the Padres' wild-card series roster was far from a slam dunk.
Now it's in jeopardy altogether.
Before Wednesday's regular season finale, Clevinger was placed on the injured list with an unspecified illness.
A team spokesman said the team was still awaiting COVID test results.
Clevinger had been scheduled to start Wednesday's game before the team announced in the morning that Craig Stammen would instead make the start. Right-hander Nabil Crismatt was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to take Clevinger's spot on the active roster.
Clevinger is 7-7 with a 4.33 ERA, 91 strikeouts and a 1.20 WHIP in 114 1/3 innings in his return from the second Tommy John surgery that wiped away the 2021 season.
The Padres acquired him for the 2020 postseason push but elbow/forearm trouble barred him from making a start in the wild-card series against the Cardinals. Clevinger exited his NLDS start against the Dodgers in the second inning with the injury that ultimately required surgery.
Clevinger began the season on the injured list with a right knee sprain, missed another two-plus weeks in May with a triceps strain and spent time on the COVID list in June.
He'd been dealing with knee discomfort down the stretch, too, but allowed a run in six innings to earn the win on Saturday night.
Because Clevinger had been in line to start Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers if the Padres needed their top three starters — Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove — to get through the wild-card series, his place on the roster as a bullpen piece was an open discussion heading into the weekend.
