The Chicago White Sox agreed to a deal with San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Mike Clevinger in MLB free agency, pending a physical, according to a Sunday afternoon tweet from the Athletic senior writer Ken Rosenthal. Terms of the deal have not yet been released.
Chicago has yet to announce the deal.
Mike Clevinger went 7-7 as a starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres last season in 23 games played and 22 starts before signing with the White Sox in free agency. He threw 55 Earned Runs Allowed, 91 strikeouts and 102 total hits in 114.1 innings pitched. The 31-year-old pitcher has a 42-22 record as an American League pitcher after spending nearly five seasons with the Cleveland Guardians, improving every year from the 3-3 start he earned his rookie year to a 13-4 record 21 starts during the 2019 season.
Clevinger was selected to be the starting pitcher for the Padres in a Game 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he allowed six hits, five runs and four errors in 2.2 innings pitched. Four relievers were called to the mound to stop the two-inning collapse. The Dodgers couldn't capitalize on a seven-inning shutout from the Padres bullpen as they fell 5-3 to start a series they would eventually lose in four games.
The seven-year MLB veteran was originally sent to San Diego in a nine-team trade along with outfielder Greg Allen for first baseman Josh Naylor, catcher Austin Hedges, right-handed pitcher Cal Quantrill, and then-minor league shortstop Gabriel Arias, among others.
Clevinger missed all of the 2021 season due to a Tommy John surgery, a procedure to repair a ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) inside the elbow. He took some time to wipe his eyes and collect himself upon returning to the mound for over a year in a 5-4 Padres victory during the first of a double-header against the Cleveland Guardians.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to pitch again,” Clevinger said. “This is big.”
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