The White Sox need another starting pitcher. According to Ken Rosenthal, Rick Hahn has already begun his search. Rosenthal reported that the White Sox are showing strong interest in free-agent right-hander, Mike Clevinger.
Clevinger was a once dominant starter in Cleveland. From 2017-20, he produced a 2.96 ERA over 489 1/3 innings. The former fourth-round draft pick also posted an excellent 19 K-BB%, placing him amongst the game’s best pitchers. In 2018 he pitched 200 innings posting a 3.02 ERA. He won 13 games and racked up 207 strikeouts. He was part of a nine-player trade in 2020 that sent him to San Diego.
But since getting traded to San Diego in 2020, Clevinger has had a rough go. The soon to be 32 year old is only two years removed from Tommy John surgery. In his first season back, he posted a 4.33 ERA, 18.8 K%, 7.2 BB%, and 35.2% groundball rate in 114 1/3 innings. He also started a pair of playoff games, allowing seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.
A little rust was to be expected, but there were alarming numbers in his 2022 season. He ranked in the bottom half of the league in hard hit percentage, expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, barrel percentage, strikeout percentage, whiff rate, fastball velocity, and curveball spin.
There are also some health concerns to consider. Before the season, Clevinger bragged that he felt “healthier than I have in my entire career.” Shortly after, he sprained his knee, which forced him to miss the start of the season. Just three starts into the season, he was placed on the IL again due to a tricep strain.
Adding Clevinger would be a roll of the dice for the front office, who are hoping he can return to his 2020 form. The White Sox already have Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, and Michael Kopech penciled into the rotation. That’s a very solid top-four. Cease is an AL Cy Young runner-up, while Lynn and Giolito are former All-Stars.
However, Kopech is coming off end-of-season knee surgery. While he should be ready by Spring Training, health is a growing concern for the 26-year-old. Last season he spent two stints on the IL for shoulder and knee issues.
Giolito is coming off one of the worst seasons in his career. After three straight seasons with a sub-four ERA, he got shelled. His ERA ballooned up to 4.90 and allowed a career-high 171 hits.
The other two options would be to bring back Johnny Cueto or promote Davis Martin to the fifth starter role. Martin was forced into action midway through the season and made the most of his 14 games in the big leagues.
The White Sox used him as a spot starter and long reliever, producing a 4.83 ERA (which got inflated from a nine-run outing during his last start of the season). While Martin deserves a shot to make the major league roster next season, he would be better suited for a long reliever role.
Cueto was the White Sox’s best pitcher in 2022, behind Cease. He was brought in on a minor league deal and immediately provided the rotation a boost. He had the second-best ERA on the team with a 3.35 mark and was third in innings despite not joining the major league roster until May.
His resurgent campaign has him in line for a pay raise, so he will likely be out the door. The White Sox are hoping that Clevinger will be cheaper and provide some more upside.
When Clevinger was placed on the shelf for Tommy John surgery, the Padres bought out the final two arbitration years for $11.5MM. His new contract is expected to be somewhere around that mark.
Both FanGraphs and MLB Trade Rumors had Clevinger just at the back end of their top 50 free agent rankings. MLTR had him ranked 49th in their Top 50 rankings. Both also had him getting a one-year deal ranging from $8 to $10 million.
A one-year prove-it deal makes sense for the right-hander as he tries to boost his stock in search of a more significant payday.
