KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Mike Clevinger

The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization announced they’ve signed right-hander Mike Clevinger (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). It’s a six-week deal as an injury replacement for righty Curtis Taylor. Clevinger, an ACES client, will be paid $75K. Taylor, who has a 4.78 ERA across 23 starts on the season, reportedly injured his shoulder this week.

It’s the first KBO stint for the 35-year-old Clevinger. He has been in affiliated ball going back to his 2011 draft year. Clevinger pitched in the majors as recently as 2025, surrendering five runs across 5 2/3 innings for the White Sox. He joined the Pirates on an offseason minor league deal but lost most of the first half to injury.

Clevinger worked in a relief role for Pittsburgh’s top farm team in Indianapolis. He pitched 24 2/3 innings of 4.74 ERA ball with average strikeout and walk marks. Clevinger triggered an opt-out a few weeks ago and was granted his release. He’ll parlay that into some guaranteed money while trying to help the Dinos erase a three-game deficit for the KBO’s final playoff spot.

A veteran of parts of nine MLB seasons, Clevinger has a career 3.55 ERA at the highest level. His success came mostly during his early run in Cleveland, as his swing-and-miss stuff never really returned after 2020 Tommy John surgery. While it’s unlikely Clevinger will have enough time to turn his KBO audition into a big league deal this offseason, a strong showing could open additional opportunities in Asia or more robust minor league interest for the 2027 season.