Mike Clevinger is returning to the American League Central.
The 31-year-old spent the first five seasons of his career pitching in the AL Central, beginning his career with the Cleveland Guardians.
Clevinger was traded to the San Diego Padres in 2020.
On Sunday, the veteran right-hander signed a one-year deal to join the Chicago White Sox.
Clevinger joins a solid White Sox rotation that already featured Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn, and Lucas Giolito.
The right-hander went 7-7 with 4.33 ERA in 23 appearances and 22 starts after returning from Tommy John surgery, which kept him out for the entire 2021 season and for the first few months of the 2022 season.
On Twitter, Jon Morosi revealed the financial terms of the deal, stating that Clevinger would be making “more than $8 million.”
Mike Clevinger’s guarantee with the #WhiteSox is more than $8 million, source says. @MLBNetwork https://t.co/PRbeK3HFkm
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 27, 2022
South Siders Nab Clevinger
Clevinger should give the White Sox a solid veteran presence in their starting rotation.
While their rotation is mostly solid, Cease was the only starter who posted Cy Young-caliber stats during the regular season.
Clevinger’s best season came in 2019, his final full season with the Guardians.
That year, the right-hander went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA.
The soon to be 32-year-old now returns to the AL Central, a division which he is quite familiar with from his days in Cleveland.
An $8 million deal for the veteran starter is a team-friendly investment for the White Sox as they look to bolster their rotation.
It also gives Clevinger an opportunity to prove himself and potentially return to where he was in 2019 and 2020, when he was a frontline starter in the Guardians and Padres rotations.
NEXT: White Sox Reporter Makes Sure To Recognize Dylan Cease
