Garrett Clevinger was part of a trade on Friday night that send Phillies Starting Pitcher Jeremy Hellickson to the Baltimore Orioles.
The Major League Baseball Trade Deadline is quickly approaching and Baltimore and Philadelphia made a trade that is somewhat questionable, but it was done nonetheless. Jeremy Hellickson was going to be a free agent at the end of the season, so moving him make sense. The Phillies considered moving him last season, but could not find the right fit.
In return for Hellickson, Philadelphia added a bullpen arm with the addition of Garrett Cleavinger who was working his way through the Orioles Farm System. This season, Cleavinger is 2-4 with a 6.28 Earned Run Average. He has had problems with keeping his walk numbers down. He has made 28 appearances. He was throwing in Double A. He will move up and join another former Duck, Cole Irvin in Single A.
Phillies GM Matt Klentak had high praise for Cleavinger and will use him out ofth e bullpen, “Clevinger is a really interesting arm. He struggled with walks a bit this year, but our scouts do believe in his arm. A power arm that will pitch out of the bullpen.”
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The bigger part of the trade may be the International Money that is used to go after players on the International Market. While teams typically have around $5 million to spend, with the trade of Hellickson, and an earlier trade of Howie Kendrick to Washington, Philadelphia added a million dollars to their International Pool, which could pay dividends in the years to come.