White Sox introduced that right-hander Mike Clevinger has been positioned on the 15-day injured listing as a consequence of proper elbow irritation. Fellow righty Jake Woodford has been chosen to the roster and can begin tonight’s recreation in Clevinger’s place. Left-hander Sammy Peralta has been designated for task to open a 40-man spot for Woodford. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Solar-Instances was amongst these to relay the Clevinger and Woodford on X previous to the official announcement.
At this level, the membership has not but offered particulars on Clevinger’s damage. Since he’s being scratched simply hours earlier than his schedule begin, it appears honest to conclude that it’s one thing that popped up lately. He tossed 4 2/3 innings in his most up-to-date begin, ending with 98 pitches thrown that day.
Additional particulars will probably be forthcoming, however any damage to a pitcher’s elbow is at all times not less than reasonably regarding. Clevinger underwent Tommy John surgical procedure in 2020 and hasn’t fairly been the identical pitcher since. He had a 3.19 ERA in his profession earlier than going underneath the knife however has a 4.20 mark since then. He had a 27.3% strikeout fee previous to the surgical procedure however has punched out simply 19.4% of batters confronted after.
He lingered in free company this winter and didn’t land a deal till the Sox signed him in early April to a modest one-year take care of a $3MM assure. He went to the minors to construct up his workload and was recalled in early Might. The Sox had been probably hoping for him to stabilized the rotation a bit by consuming some innings and maybe turning himself right into a midseason commerce candidate. That plan hasn’t labored out to date, as he has a 6.75 ERA by 4 begins and is now occurring the injured listing for some unknown period of time.
The Sox have traded away lots of their starters lately as a part of their ongoing rebuild, together with Dylan Stop, Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito. This 12 months, among the guys they’ve tried haven’t labored out. Michael Soroka has been moved to the bullpen whereas Brad Keller was got rid of the roster fully.
The Sox are left with a rotation core consisting of Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen and Nick Nastrini. Crochet and Fedde have pitched effectively however Crochet will probably hit some type of workload restrict ultimately, given how little he’s pitched in earlier seasons. Fedde is on a two-year deal and will probably be a commerce candidate this summer season. Flexen is an impending free agent and can be a logical commerce candidate as effectively, although his 5.69 ERA this 12 months doesn’t give him large enchantment in the intervening time.
For now, Woodford will step in and make not less than one begin for the membership. The 27-year-old was signed to a minor league deal within the offseason and has been pitching in Triple-A this 12 months. He has logged 49 2/3 innings in his ten begins with a 5.26 ERA, 19.6% strikeout fee, 7.9% stroll fee and 40.9% floor ball fee.
Previous to this 12 months, he spent his complete profession with the Cardinals. He threw 184 2/3 innings over the previous 4 seasons with a 4.29 ERA. His 47.3% floor ball fee in that point was stable however his 15.1% strikeout fee effectively under par. He exhausted his possibility years in that stretch with St. Louis and so they non-tendered him on the finish of final season, which led to his take care of the Sox.
Since he’s out of choices, the Sox should hold him on the energetic roster or else take away him from the 40-man fully. If he manages to final on the roster all 12 months, he could be retained past this season through arbitration. He got here into 2024 together with his service time rely at three years and 48 days. If the membership wants one other starter down the road, Jonathan Cannon is on the 40-man however tossed six innings on Sunday. He wouldn’t have been accessible in the present day however will maybe get consideration going ahead. Chad Kuhl and Touki Toussaint are non-roster choices with some main league expertise.
Extra to return.
