The White Sox are reuniting with a familiar pitcher.
According to Fansided’s Robert Murray, free agent Mike Clevinger has agreed to terms with the White Sox on a minor-league contract. As expected, the deal includes a non-roster invite to Spring Training.
Clevinger, 34, returns to Chicago for a third-straight season. The right-hander first struck a deal back in 2023 for $12 million and put up decent results, posting a 3.77 ERA in 131.1 innings with the South Siders. Given his strong showing, Clevinger opted out of what would’ve been another $12 million in 2024 to test the open market. After failing to land anything by Opening Day, he returned on a reduced $4 million deal in early April.
Like the rest of last season, Clevinger’s campaign was one to forget. Injuries limited him to just four starts, where he allowed 13 runs (12 earned) across 16 innings. He first suffered right elbow inflammation in late May, which was followed by an announcement in late July that we would undergo season-ending surgery to address a disc issue in his neck. With nothing but minor league offers on the table for 2025, Clevinger opted to return to Chicago and potentially compete for a spot in the starting rotation or more likely in a bullpen role.
Entering camp, the White Sox also have the newly signed left-hander Martin Perez and right-hander Bryse Wilson on one-year deals. Both figure to eat innings in the rotation to help younger arms like Davis Martin, Jonathan Cannon, and Drew Thorpe down the stretch. With additional prospects in the mix to see time this year, Clevinger will be competing against other non-roster invites like Justin Dunn and Jonathan Heasley for a roster spot. GM Chris Getz told the media he envisions Clevinger at the back of the bullpen, but the righty will still have his work cut out for him if he hopes to make the team come the end of March.
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