Mike Clevinger may have thrown his last pitch in a White Sox uniform. On Saturday multiple reports indicated that Clevinger is expected to undergo disc replacement surgery in his neck on August 1st. As a result, he will miss the remainder of the season.
Clevinger only threw 16 innings in the big leagues this season and was already behind the eight ball after remaining unsigned in free agency until April 4th. He owned a 0-3 record in four starts with a 6.75 ERA and 15 strikeouts. During that stretch, he posted a -0.2 WAR, 11.5% walk rate, 35.2% ground ball rate, and a .295 expected batting average against him. Those numbers were not going to draw any suitors at the trade deadline so there really wasn’t much use for Clevinger on the roster anyway.
The 33-year-old right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list in May. Clevinger tossed four innings of one-run ball in a rehab start for Triple-A Charlotte on July 14 and was scheduled to make another one on July 23 before being pulled due to neck stiffness.
At the time White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said that the team planned to reevaluate him. The decision to shut down Clevinger for the season is best for both parties. It allows Clevinger extra time to recover before hitting free agency
Clevinger is already not well-liked by the majority of the fan base. He doesn't figure to be a member of the team once they shift into their next “contention window” and if he was healthy he would be blocking a spot in the rotation that a younger arm could use in the minor leagues.
During his two seasons in Chicago, he owned a 9-12 record, 4.09 ERA, and averaged 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
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