Garrett J. Cleavinger (born April 23, 1994) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Amateur career

Cleavinger attended Lawrence High School in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

, graduating in 2012. 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. Cleavinger attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...

. He served as the closer for the Ducks in 2015. As a freshman in 2013, Cleavinger was 9–0 with a 1.24 ERA (2nd in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

) and two saves in 37 relief appearances (4th in the conference), and struck out 57 batters in innings (averaging 11.7 strikeouts/9 innings, 4th-best in the conference). He set an Oregon freshman records for appearances and

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and held opposing batters to a .137 batting average (the lowest single-season mark by an Oregon pitcher in school history). Cleavinger was named a freshman All-American by

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and the

NCBWA The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States. It was founded in 1962. The NCBWA compiles a preseason ranking of the top 35 teams in the natio ...

(2nd Team). 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). In 2013 and 2014, Cleavinger played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. 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). Cleavinger played for the Ducks alongside future Phillies teammate, pitcher

Cole Irvin Cole R. Irvin (born January 31, 1994), nicknamed "Swirvin Irvin", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). Irvin was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round of the 201 ...

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles

The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

selected Cleavinger in the third round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

, and he made his professional debut with the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the ...

, posting a 6–1 record with a 2.19 ERA in 19 games. Cleavinger spent 2016 with the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

and the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masc ...

, going a combined 7–3 with a 3.07 ERA in a career-high innings pitched. He was a 2016

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

(SAL) Mid-Season All-Star. Cleavinger started 2017 with the Bowie Baysox.

Philadelphia Phillies

On July 28, 2017, the Orioles traded Cleavinger and

Hyun-soo Kim Hyun-soo Kim (; ; born January 12, 1988) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder for the LG Twins of the KBO League. He previously played for the Doosan Bears, and has also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore O ...

to the Philadelphia Phillies for

Jeremy Hellickson Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Na ...

. The Phillies assigned Cleavinger to the

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

. In 38 total games between Bowie and Reading in 2017, he posted a 2–5 record, a 6.00 ERA, and 59

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

, in 54 innings. In 2018, between Clearwater and Reading, Cleavinger was 1–1 with a 7.43 ERA, and 18 strikeouts in innings. Cleavinger returned to Reading to begin 2019. There, he was 3–2 with a 4.35 ERA in 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). Cleavinger was added to the Phillies 40–man roster following the 2019 season. Cleavinger was first called up by the Phillies on September 8, 2020, but did not pitch before being sent back down. 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 The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, at

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 29, 2020, Cleavinger was traded to the

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 In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

to the

. On May 11, 2021, Cleavinger recorded his first career major league victory against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. He pitched in 22 games for the Dodgers, with a 2–4 record and 3.00 ERA.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 1, 2022, Cleavinger was traded to the

in exchange for minor leaguer German Tapia.

Personal life

Cleavinger's uncl
Matt McWilliams
played in the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

organization.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleavinger, Garrett 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Lawrence, Kansas Baseball players from Kansas Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Phillies players Los Angeles Dodgers players Tampa Bay Rays players Oregon Ducks baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Aberdeen IronBirds players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Bowie Baysox players Reading Fightin Phils players Glendale Desert Dogs players Clearwater Threshers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Durham Bulls players