The Phillies optioned Cleavinger to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic reports.
Though Philadelphia added Cleavinger to the 40-man roster over the winter, that transaction was mostly for the purpose of shielding him from the Rule 5 draft rather than an indication his big-league debut is imminent. The 25-year-old lefty reliever will head to Triple-A for the first time after spending the entire 2019 campaign at Double-A Reading, where he accrued a 3.66 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 83 strikeouts over 51.2 innings.