What Mike Clevinger’s arrival means for White Sox’ rotation, fifth-starter spot

Mike Clevinger is, officially, back with the White Sox.

The team announced a one-year free-agent deal for the right-hander Thursday after numerous reports pointed to the reunion earlier this week.

In the minds of many fans, Clevinger is inextricable from the league’s investigation into domestic-abuse allegations against him last year, which were made public after he signed with the White Sox but before the start of spring training. Though the investigation resulted in no punishment, plenty of fans continue to hold negative opinions of Clevinger and are not pleased the White Sox chose to bring him back.

The team, meanwhile, considers Clevinger a positive presence, in terms of what he brings to the clubhouse. Pedro Grifol, who praised Clevinger from an off-the-field standpoint on multiple occasions last season, said this week that Clevinger’s return works toward some of the goals the White Sox are trying to accomplish from a cultural perspective as Chris Getz and the front office remake the organization.

“Clev was a really good teammate here,” Grifol said Tuesday. “He pitched really good baseball for us last year. He’s a really good competitor. We’ll see how it all plays out, but he certainly has some attributes that we saw last year that were on point to who we are and where we want to go.”

Getz had this to say to reporters, including the Sun-Times’ Daryl Van Schouwen, on Thursday:

“I don’t want to be dismissive of events that involve domestic violence. You have to trust people that lead investigations. Based on the information we have now, we’re very comfortable having Clev join the White Sox.

“I understand the sensitivity here, and I don’t want to be dismissive of that at all. But we wouldn’t be doing this unless we were very comfortable with this situation, and the reason we’re most comfortable is based on the investigation that has taken place beyond the Chicago White Sox.”

The team should obviously be aware that Clevinger’s return is upsetting to a certain segment from the fan base, but any public-relations impact doesn’t change the fact that Clevinger is now part of the White Sox’ pitching plans for 2024. That in itself is a bit of a head-scratcher as the White Sox aren’t expected to do much winning this season.

Clevinger was the team’s best starting pitcher a year ago, but his initial acquisition was made with the intent of using him to help win a championship, something that doesn’t seem likely this season. With the franchise in a much different place, the White Sox have brought Clevinger back anyway. That could potentially take opportunity away from young pitchers who could be a bigger part of the team’s long-term planning.

The best-case scenario, one would assume, would be Getz being able to flip Clevinger for some younger players at the trade deadline. For a team that was so budget-conscious in its offseason spending, a $3 million roll of the dice that Clevinger could fetch a prospect or two is somewhat puzzling.

But perhaps the White Sox just aren’t yet at the stage where they feel comfortable giving major league chances to their pitching prospects.

Though he had a sensational spring, Nick Nastrini started just four games after a late-season promotion to the Triple-A level last season. It’s quite possible that despite what he showed in Cactus League games, the White Sox are interested in getting him more development time in Charlotte than they are getting him to the big leagues as quickly as possible.

Nastrini was part of a jaw-dropping pounding the Knights took Wednesday night, when a team full of highly rated Orioles prospects scored a whopping 26 runs. Nastrini didn’t last long in that game, done after only three innings, and Getz revealed to reporters Thursday that Nastrini has been battling an illness.

Meanwhile, onto their third series of the season, the White Sox have used only four starting pitchers so far this season. They figured to need a fifth Wednesday, but the team elected to plot a bullpen game before inclement weather washed the contest away before it started. With all four starters set to throw on regular rest in a weekend series in Kansas City, the next time the team would need a fifth arm is Monday in Cleveland, though the idea of a bullpen game that day might be appealing, as well.

In fact, thanks to scheduled off days over the next couple weeks, the White Sox might be able to make it deep into April before they need a fifth starter, perhaps as late as a series against the Twins two and a half weeks from now.

So will it be Nastrini, as was the assumption coming out of spring camp? It all remains to be seen.

“We have options,” Grifol said Wednesday, before the Clevinger signing became official. “We’ve been sorting through this for quite some time now. This is not upon us without us having options.

“Everybody’s in play, because we had some guys who had some good springs. … We have starting-pitching depth. Some are veteran guys. A lot of them are young. At some point, they’ve got to come in here and taste it and get evaluated to see where they’re at. We’ll see. But it’s a really good feeling to look at your depth chart and see some options and they’re good options.

“We’ll make those decisions when we have to.”

Getz said something similar Thursday:

“At some point, we’ll have a fifth starter, and we have some candidates to fill that role.”

According to Getz, Clevinger is expected to be ready by the end of the month. Who knows if that aforementioned series against the Twins would be a little early, but eventually, Clevinger will slot into this rotation. Does that mean he plugs the open spot, and that’s it? Or will one of the team’s current starting pitchers be squeezed out to provide an opportunity for Nastrini?

Grifol’s mention of the team’s starting-pitching depth warrants inclusion of veterans Brad Keller, Chad Kuhl and Jake Woodford in this discussion, as well, though their selections over Nastrini – any of them would cost the team a 40-man spot, just like Nastrini would – would bring about the same questions that Clevinger’s arrival has, ones about opportunities for youngsters in this supposed season of learning.

Indeed, Nastrini might just be further away from a big league chance than his stellar spring performance led us to believe. And if that’s the case, plugging Clevinger into that open spot and riding with the four existing pitchers alongside him would perhaps give Getz the best chance to be a popular person come the trade deadline. Any exit from the rotation at that point in the summer could then open late-season chances for Nastrini and other prospects.

We’ll see if that’s how things play out. The rotation figures to be better in the short term with Clevinger a part of it. As for his effect on things in the long term? That’s another wait and see on the South Side.

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