De Los Santos, 28, started the 2024 season with the Padres, who acquired him over the winter in exchange for Scott Barlow. Across 44 games for San Diego, De Los Santos pitched to a mediocre 4.46 ERA, giving up 21 runs (20 earned) on 39 hits over 40 1/3 innings. His underlying numbers were a little more promising (3.22 SIERA, 3.91 xFIP), and he was solid for the Guardians from 2022-23, putting up a 3.18 ERA and 3.57 SIERA over 120 appearances. Nonetheless, the Padres ran out of room for him after acquiring several new relievers at the trade deadline, so they flipped him to the Yankees alongside pitching prospect Thomas Balboni Jr. in exchange for minor league outfielder Brandon Lockridge.

The Yankees quickly soured on De Los Santos, however, designating him for assignment earlier this week. Funnily enough, the final straw for De Los Santos in the Bronx might have been his outing against the White Sox on Monday, when he gave up seven earned runs to his future team in 1 2/3 innings of work.

At this point in the season, the White Sox are simply looking for live arms to help them get to the finish line. They rank last in the AL with a 5.03 bullpen ERA, and their relief corps has been even worse as of late, pitching to a 6.17 ERA since the All-Star break. De Los Santos should be more than capable of providing the White Sox with innings over the final weeks of the season, and he could prove to be quite a smart pickup for Chris Getz and Co. if he rediscovers his 2022-23 form. He will be eligible for arbitration in 2025 and ’26, should the White Sox choose to keep him around.

The White Sox claimed Varland, 27, off of waivers from the Dodgers earlier this month. Neither his Triple-A numbers nor his MLB stats are particularly inspiring, but he can serve as additional bullpen depth for Chicago. Varland has a career 5.81 ERA and 5.45 SIERA across 26 1/3 innings with the Brewers and Dodgers over the past two years. Meanwhile, he has a 7.47 ERA and 5.00 FIP in 37 1/3 innings at Triple-A this season.

Wilson, 29, joined the White Sox this offseason as part of the trade that sent Dylan Cease to the Padres. Although he put up solid numbers during his two seasons in San Diego (3.48 ERA, 4.20 SIERA in 106 IP), he has had a difficult year in Chicago. Not only is this his second stint on the injured list with back troubles, but he has a 5.71 ERA and 5.38 SIERA in 40 appearances. According to Win Probability Added (WPA) and FanGraphs WAR, he has been one of the ten least valuable relievers in the AL this season.

Clevinger, 33, will ultimately make just four starts in the majors this year after signing with the White Sox on a $3MM deal shortly after Opening Day. He struggled in the limited time he was healthy enough to take the mound with a 6.75 ERA and 6.21 FIP in 16 innings of work. It’s a disappointing showing for both player and team in Clevinger’s second consecutive year with the White Sox, particularly after he delivered a solid season in 2023 when he posted a 3.77 ERA and 4.28 FIP in 131 1/3 innings of work while ending the season on a strong note with a 2.45 ERA over his final 11 starts.

That strong stretch to end the 2023 campaign was reminiscent of the veteran’s best days, when he pitched for Cleveland. After a difficult rookie season in 2016, Clevinger broke out in 2017 to become one of the better starters in the game and over the next three seasons posted a fantastic 2.96 ERA with a 3.32 FIP in 447 2/3 innings of work. Among pitchers with at least 400 innings of work across those three seasons, Clevinger’s ERA ranked sixth in the majors behind a quintet of multi-time Cy Young award winners: Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, and Corey Kluber.

Unfortunately, things came off the rails for Clevinger shortly after he was traded to the Padres during the shortened 2020 season. He underwent Tommy John surgery late in the year and missed the entire 2021 campaign while rehabbing. He’s struggled to stay on the mound ever since, having pitched just just 303 1/3 innings of work total since the start of the 2023 season. While his overall numbers during that time paint a picture of a roughly average back-end arm, he’s frequent injury woes and step back from his peak in the late 2010’s have left him unable to contribute anything even close to his former dominant form.

While Clevinger’s injury woes and lackluster results when he did take the mound this year left him a somewhat unlikely trade candidate in the days leading up to Tuesday’s deadline, his impending surgery not only eliminates whatever remote possibility of a trade still existed but also leaves the White Sox without a veteran arm who otherwise may have been able to fill out the rotation following the possible departure of arms like Erick Fedde and Garrett Crochet, both of whom have found themselves in the rumor mill quite frequently this summer.

A timeline for Clevinger’s return to the mound isn’t yet clear, though it’s worth noting that veteran outfielder Jesse Winker underwent a similar procedure in October 2022 and was back in action in time for Spring Training last year. If Clevinger follows a similar timeline, he’ll enter free agency this winter coming off a lost season in 2024 but likely to be ready to go in time for when pitchers and catchers report next February.

Chicago isn’t likely to drop its demands much (or even at all) until closer to the deadline, and Crochet’s arbitration control also gives the Sox some extra leverage since the team doesn’t need to move the southpaw any time soon.  If anything, Crochet having a full and healthy season as a starter might only increase what the White Sox might be looking for in trade talks during the offseason, when the Sox could speak to a wider array of potential suitors.

More from around the AL Central…

• Sticking with the White Sox, Mike Clevinger told reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) that he is set to begin rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.  The plan is for Clevinger to start on Tuesday and Sunday in Charlotte before then possibly being activated from the 15-day injured list if all goes well.  Clevinger hasn’t pitched since May 23 due to a bout of elbow inflammation, and he has a 6.75 ERA over 16 innings and four starts this season.  Clevinger’s season already got off to a late start since he didn’t sign his one-year, $3MM free agent deal with Chicago until the start of April, but if he able to return healthy, he’ll have over a month to audition for interested teams heading into the trade deadline.
• Michael Wacha is slated to make a rehab start with the Royals’ Arizona Complex League team tomorrow, manager Matt Quatraro told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters.  This might be Wacha’s only rehab outing, as Quatraro indicated that the Royals are planning to have the veteran righty back in their rotation next weekend.  Wacha signed a two-year, $32MM contract (with an opt-out after this season) with Kansas City this past winter, and delivered a 4.24 ERA over his first 68 innings as a Royal before a non-displaced fracture in his left foot resulted in an IL stint.  June 1 was the retroactive start date of that IL visit, so returning by next weekend makes for a relatively quick return for Wacha, which is good news considering the tricky nature of such injuries.
• Alex Lange had to leave the mound during an outing with Triple-A Toledo on Friday, and the Tigers reliever was in visible discomfort with an apparent upper-body injury.  Lange was set to undergo tests this weekend and the team hasn’t yet given any official word on his status.  Detroit optioned Lange to Triple-A last month after he posted a 4.34 ERA and (more distressingly) an 18.9% walk rate over 18 2/3 innings this season.  Lange has long battled control problems but his stay in Toledo seemed to be bearing dividends, as he had only a 2.9% walk rate and a 3.12 ERA over 8 2/3 Triple-A innings.

That series of health woes has left Milwaukee with a patchwork rotation comprised that features only three set members at the moment: staff ace Freddy Peralta, journeyman Colin Rea and swingman-turned-starter Bryse Wilson. The Brewers announced earlier today that righty Tobias Myers will start tonight’s game and has since optioned lefty Aaron Ashby to Triple-A (clearing way for the selection of righty James Meeker’s contract). They’ll feature plenty of “TBA”s in the near future when looking at upcoming pitching matchups.

Incredibly, the Brewers are not only still in first place but have a relatively commanding 5.5-game lead over the division at the moment. Still, it’s wholly unsurprising to see FanSided’s Robert Murray suggest that starting pitching will be a major point of focus for Milwaukee’s front office in the weeks leading up to next month’s trade deadline. Murray writes that the Brewers “considered” righty Mike Clevinger in free agency before the 33-year-old re-signed with the White Sox on a one-year deal.

Milwaukee’s level of interest in Clevinger following four shaky White Sox starts and an IL placement for elbow inflammation isn’t clear, but he’d be a reasonable low-cost pickup — both in terms of salary ($3MM base) and cost of acquisition. Clevinger has pitched 16 innings with a 6.75 ERA, a 19.2% strikeout rate and an 11.5% walk rate. He did not complete five innings in any of his four starts with the Sox prior to being placed on the 15-day IL in late May. There’s still seven weeks for him to get healthy and get back to his 2023 form, when he tossed 131 1/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball (4.28 FIP, 4.81 SIERA). If Clevinger can indeed right the ship, the offseason interest from Milwaukee will be an interesting point to keep in mind, but for now the Brew Crew is surely trying to find more immediate upgrades.

Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel also writes within his latest mailbag that Milwaukee is likely to pursue pitching depth at the deadline. That’s only natural, but Hogg also fields multiple questions on the trade candidacy — or lack thereof — of Willy Adames. Milwaukee’s shortstop is just months from reaching the open market, and the Brewers have in the past been willing to trade from the big league roster in the midst of contending pushes as a means of stockpiling future talent. Their 2022 trade of Josh Hader, in particular, is the most prominent instance of this.

That said, Hogg paints a trade of Adames as unlikely, citing a recent interview with Brewers owner Mark Attanasio wherein he acknowledged that the team has not only received trade offers but compelling ones for Adames in the past — as recently as this offseason. “…[T]here may have been some merit to build for the future,” Attanasio said of the offers received for Adames. The club’s owner also touted Adames as one of the heartbeats of the clubhouse, however. And, as Hogg rightly notes, Adames is a slam-dunk qualifying offer candidate at season’s end — one who’ll surely sign a large enough contract to net the Brewers a comp pick at the end of the first round — if he indeed signs elsewhere.

The previously mentioned injury problems for the Brewers don’t stop in the rotation. Milwaukee has been without outfielder Garrett Mitchell and, even more critically, star closer Devin Williams all season. Young fireballer Abner Uribe took over some of Williams’ closing duties early in the season and had a strong start, tossing 12 1/3 innings with a 3.65 ERA, a 27% strikeout rate and three saves to begin the season. Uribe was torched for five runs in two-thirds of an inning against the Yankees in late April and gave up another run against the Rays three days later before being sent to Nashville to work shaky command that had led to a glaring 18.2% walk rate.

Now, however, Uribe is also on the shelf. He recently sustained a knee injury and was placed on the minor league injured list, general manager Matt Arnold revealed to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Uribe is slated to undergo an MRI next Tuesday, at which point the club will surely have further updates on his status.

Fedde, Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong, Mike Clevinger, John Brebbia, Tim Hill and other players who aren’t signed long-term — Fedde is signed through next season, the others are all free agents this winter — all stood as obvious trade candidates to begin with. I wrote about Fedde’s trade candidacy for MLBTR Front Office subscribers a couple weeks back. DeJong recently said on 670 The Score in Chicago that he and Pham both fully expect to be traded. That anyone from that group is viewed as likely to change hands is only logical.

Names like Robert and Crochet being available is far less certain, even for a rebuilding club like the Sox, given the amount of club control each has remaining. In Robert’s case, he’s signed through the 2027 season in the form of a $12.5MM salary this season, a $15MM salary in 2025 and a pair of club options valued at $20MM apiece (both with a $2MM buyout). Crochet entered the 2024 campaign with three years of big league service, meaning he’s in his first arbitration season and has another pair of seasons of club control beyond 2024.

It bears emphasizing that the Sox being “open” to offers or “willing to trade” either player is far different from the team actively shopping said players. That open-minded approach is also far from a guarantee that either will be moved. The substantial control remaining beyond the current season means Chicago GM Chris Getz will set an enormous asking price on both players, and both will still retain tremendous trade value into the offseason and even into next year’s deadline if a deal doesn’t come together this summer.

Robert, still just 26 years old, returned from the injured list yesterday after an absence of nearly two months. He suffered a Grade 2 strain of his hip flexor early in the season and was sidelined for the bulk of April and the entirety of May. He wasted little time in reminding the type of impact he brings to a game, going 2-for-4 with a homer in his return effort. The Cuban-born five-tool standout has played in only eight games and taken just 33 plate appearances this season but carries a .250/.273/.594 batting line with three homers.

Last year saw Robert take his always tantalizing game to new heights. The dynamic center fielder stayed healthy for a career-high 145 games and posted a stout .264/.315/.542 batting line with a career-high 38 home runs, 36 doubles, a triple and 20 stolen bases (in 24 tries). Robert ranked in the 84th percentile of MLB players in terms of sprint speed, per Statcast, and was among the league leaders in barrel rate. He’s a premium outfield defender with plus range and an above-average arm — evidenced both by gaudy Statcast percentile rankings and by career marks of +13 Defensive Runs Saved and +24 Outs Above Average in 3116 innings of work.

Durability and an over-aggressive approach at the plate are the primary knocks on Robert, who is two months into his fifth MLB season and already has five career IL placements for injury (plus another shorter stay on the Covid-related injured list). Robert played in 56 of 60  games during his rookie showing in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, but he logged just 68 and 98 games in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and he could finish the 2024 season with fewer than 100 games played as well, thanks to one already lengthy absence. He’s now had significant strains of his left and right hip flexors, in addition to an MCL sprain and a wrist strain in his career.

In terms of Robert’s approach at the plate, the results are strong so it’s hard to be too critical. But Robert rarely walks (career 5.3%) and chases pitches off the plate more than nearly any player in the sport. Since his 2020 debut, only Salvador Perez, Harold Ramirez and Javier Baez swing at more balls out of the strike zone than Robert’s massive 46.3% (at least among qualified hitters). His 54.6% contact rate on such swings is well below average, and his career 83.2% contact rate on pitches in the strike zone is also a couple points south of par. It hasn’t led to an exorbitant strikeout rate just yet — Robert has fanned in 25.5% of his career plate appearances — but it’s a less-than-ideal trend that could worsen if Robert loses what Statcast currently measures as elite bat speed (seventh fastest in the majors, on average).

There’s little precedent for a player of this quality with this level of affordability and team control being traded. Robert is owed just under $8MM through season’s end as of this writing plus another $45MM over the next three seasons. Three-and-a-half years of an MVP-caliber talent at a maximum rate of $63MM is a raucous bargain by today’s contractual standards. Teams may be wary of Robert’s injury history and free-swinging ways, but he’s signed for the remainder of his 20s and would be a legitimately franchise-altering deadline acquisition if a team can put together an impressive enough trade offer. Robert might not quite command the type of haul the Padres sent to the Nats for Juan Soto a couple years back, but he’s closer to that level of value than the standard deadline trade candidates. Getz alluded to as much in the offseason, calling Robert “one of the best players in baseball” and noting that he was a “difficult player to trade.”

There are similarities, in terms of trade value, when it comes to Crochet. It’s rare to see a high-end pitcher with two and a half seasons of club control traded at the deadline. Crochet is extra appealing given that his injuries and former role in the bullpen have tamped down his first-year arbitration price. He’s being paid only $800K this season. He’ll be due a pair of notable raises in each of the next two offseasons but still isn’t likely to command even $15MM in salary over those two years.

The 24-year-old Crochet’s transition from reliever to starter hit a brief snag with a trio of rough outings in mid-April, but he’s on an absolute tear right now and looks the part of a frontline starter, as one might expect for a former first-round talent who has long been touted to have ace upside. In 13 starts, Crochet is sitting on a 3.49 earned run average with vastly better fielding-independent marks (2.87 FIP, 2.48 SIERA). That’s due largely to his elite strikeout and walk numbers; Crochet has punched out 33.7% of his opponents against just a 5.4% walk rate — all while keeping the ball on the ground at an above-average 45.9% clip and averaging a blazing 96.9 mph on his heater.

Since that set of consecutive rough outings in April, Crochet has been on another planet. Arguably baseball’s best pitcher in that time, he’s logged a 1.35 ERA with a 53-to-7 K/BB ratio over his past 40 innings. Crochet allowed five, seven and five earned runs in his run of three straight rocky April outings. He’s yielded two or fewer runs in each of his ten other starts this season.

Rival clubs might be wary of how well he’ll hold up over the course of a full season in the rotation. It’s a fair qualm, as Crochet pitched just 25 innings last season and didn’t pitch at all in 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. This year’s 69 2/3 innings are already a new career-high for the lefty, who entered 2024 with only 85 1/3 professional innings total (majors and minors combined). That said, even if there are concerns about Crochet fading down the stretch, there’s considerable long-term upside, as one would imagine the effects of a full starter’s workload will be more normalized for him in 2025 and 2026. If he wears down later this year, he’s also quite familiar with pitching in short relief.

Any trepidation about how he’ll hold up this year hasn’t stopped the Padres from reaching out to the White Sox. They’ve reportedly inquired on the lefty and have strong interest in him, which makes sense given not only Crochet’s dominance and San Diego’s need for arms, but also his minimal salary and the Friars’ relative proximity to the luxury tax barrier. Adding one of the game’s most dominant pitchers while barely even advancing your luxury tax line ought to hold overwhelming appeal for the majority of the team’s highest-spending clubs. At the same time, Crochet’s minimal salary also makes him appealing to small-market clubs with payroll concerns. Short of the innings worries, he’s an ideal trade target.

Because of that, the asking price on Crochet figures to be extreme, just as it will be with Robert. If Getz and his team genuinely make both available and play some bidders against one another, the Sox could genuinely overhaul the entire farm system with this pair of trades — to say nothing of deals involving Fedde, Pham and the other previously mentioned veterans. It’s going to take an enormous package of prospects to pry either player from the Sox, but with widespread mediocrity permeating the National League and leaving few teams in position to truly wave the white flag on the 2024 season, it could be a seller’s market. There’s no salvaging this lost season for the South Siders, but getting one or both of these trades right could wildly accelerate their rebuilding efforts.

Since Clevinger is being scratched just hours before his schedule start, it seems fair to conclude that it’s something that popped up recently. He tossed 4 2/3 innings in his most recent start, finishing with 98 pitches thrown that day. He says he has received a cortisone shot and will be shut down for 48 hours, per Van Schouwen on X. The righty expects to return after the 15-day minimum is up.

Clevinger underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and hasn’t quite been the same pitcher since. He had a 3.19 ERA in his career before going under the knife but has a 4.20 mark since then. He had a 27.3% strikeout rate prior to the surgery but has punched out just 19.4% of batters faced after.

He lingered in free agency this winter and didn’t land a deal until the Sox signed him in early April to a modest one-year deal with a $3MM guarantee. He went to the minors to build up his workload and was recalled in early May. The Sox were likely hoping for him to stabilized the rotation a bit by eating some innings and perhaps turning himself into a midseason trade candidate. That plan hasn’t worked out so far, as he has a 6.75 ERA through four starts and is now going on the injured list for at least a short spell.

The Sox have traded away many of their starters in recent years as part of their ongoing rebuild, including Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito. This year, some of the guys they have tried have not worked out. Michael Soroka has been moved to the bullpen while Brad Keller was bumped off the roster entirely.

The Sox are left with a rotation core consisting of Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen and Nick Nastrini. Crochet and Fedde have pitched well but Crochet will likely hit some kind of workload limit eventually, given how little he’s pitched in previous seasons. Fedde is on a two-year deal and will be a trade candidate this summer. Flexen is an impending free agent and would be a logical trade candidate as well, though his 5.69 ERA this year doesn’t give him massive appeal at the moment.

For now, Woodford will step in and make at least one start for the club. The 27-year-old was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason and has been pitching in Triple-A this year. He has logged 49 2/3 innings in his ten starts with a 5.26 ERA, 19.6% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 40.9% ground ball rate.

Prior to this year, he spent his entire career with the Cardinals. He threw 184 2/3 innings over the past four seasons with a 4.29 ERA. His 47.3% ground ball rate in that time was solid but his 15.1% strikeout rate well below par. He exhausted his option years in that stretch with St. Louis and they non-tendered him at the end of last season, which led to his deal with the Sox.

Since he’s out of options, the Sox will have to keep him on the active roster or else remove him from the 40-man entirely. If he manages to last on the roster all year, he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration. He came into 2024 with his service time count at three years and 48 days. If the club needs another starter down the line, Jonathan Cannon is on the 40-man but tossed six innings on Sunday. He wouldn’t have been available today but will perhaps get consideration going forward. Chad Kuhl and Touki Toussaint are non-roster options with some major league experience.

Peralta, 26, was just claimed off waivers from the Mariners two days ago. That brought him back to his original organization, as the Sox drafted him back in 2019 but lost him to the M’s off waivers in April of this year.

He made 16 appearances for the Sox last year with a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings. He struck out 20% of batters faced and walked 12.2%. With Triple-A Tacoma this year, he had a 9.24 ERA in 12 2/3 innings. His 20% strikeout rate and 13.3% walk rate with Tacoma were quite similar to last year’s major league work, but three home runs, a .361 batting average on balls in play and 57.7% strand rate pushed some extra runs across the plate.

The Sox were clearly still intrigued by their old friend and tried to bring him back, but the need for a roster spot nudged him off in short order. They will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year and one more season as well. In the minor leagues in 2022, he tossed 62 innings with a 3.77 ERA, 29.2% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and got grounders on roughly half the balls in play he allowed.

Clevinger, 33, is a veteran with over five years of major league service time. That means he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. But he lingered in free agency this winter, not agreeing with the White Sox until early April, and agreed to be sent down to the farm to get properly built up for a starter’s workload.

It was reported last week that the Sox would be shuffling their rotation, with Clevinger and Brad Keller taking roles, though it’s still unclear who will be bumped out. Youngsters Nick Nastrini and Jonathan Cannon had each made multiple starts for the club, but both have been optioned back to the minors in recent weeks. Erick Fedde has had the strongest results so far this year with a 3.46 earned run average. Garrett Crochet’s 5.31 ERA doesn’t look nice but his 32.3% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate are both strong.

Michael Soroka has a 6.48 ERA on the year with uninspiring peripherals to match. His 47.8% ground ball rate is solid but he has walked 12.6% of batters faced while striking out just 10.6%. Chris Flexen also has pretty unremarkable peripherals, including a 13.6% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate, but his 4.85 ERA is at least somewhat passable.

Soroka is still listed on MLB.com as tomorrow’s starter with Flexen the day after. Perhaps they will each get a chance to throw once more before the Sox make a decision, but the club now have six starters to choose from with Clevinger, Keller, Fedde and Crochet also in the mix.

The Sox are 8-26 at this point and clearly won’t be competing this year. Still, the return of Clevinger will hopefully act as a stabilizing force in the rotation as he perhaps sets himself up as a potential trade candidate this summer.

Clevinger was a borderline ace from 2017 to 2020, throwing 489 1/3 innings with a 2.96 ERA, 28% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. But he required Tommy John surgery after 2020 and hasn’t quite returned to his previous form. He missed 2021 and then had a 4.33 ERA in 2022, with his strikeout rate falling to 18.8%. Last year, he got his strikeout rate up slightly to 20% and dropped his ERA to 3.77, but was still not quite as his pre-surgery levels.

He could have been a trade candidate last summer, since the Sox were also selling at that time, though his health may have played a role there. Right biceps inflammation sent him to the injured list in mid-June and he wasn’t activated until July 27, just before the deadline. He was also later placed on waivers and went unclaimed, though that may have been due to his contract having a $4MM buyout on a mutual option, so any claiming team would have had to absorb that cost. It was also reported in early 2023 that he was the subject of a domestic violence investigation, which could have impacted the interest around the league, though that investigation concluded in March of last year without MLB giving Clevinger any punishment.

This year’s deal is a straight one-year pact with a $3MM base and $3MM of incentives. If Clevinger is healthy and pitching well this summer, the Sox would surely make him available in trades given their ongoing rebuild and poor record.

Right-hander Erick Fedde has been Chicago’s only above-average starter this season. Lefty Garrett Crochet started brilliantly but has been hit hard of late, ballooning his ERA to just under 6.00. Michael Soroka, Jonathan Cannon, Chris Flexen and Nick Nastrini have all made multiple starts but all came into today with an ERA north of 6.00. Flexen allowed just two earned runs over five innings today, lowering his ERA to 4.85. The Sox have combined for a 5.52 ERA out of the rotation, ranking 29th in the big leagues — ahead of only the Rockies. White Sox starters have averaged an MLB-worst 1.61 homers per nine frames.

Keller, 28, is a longtime division foe for the Sox, having spent his entire big league career prior to this season with the Royals. From 2018-20, Keller emerged as a steadying presence for Kansas City, going from a Rule 5 long reliever to a core member of the rotation. He pitched 360 1/3 frames of 3.50 ERA ball during that stretch, but his career went the opposite direction in three subsequent seasons.

From 2021-23, Keller was tagged for a 5.14 ERA as his command took a noticeable turn for the worse. He was limited to just 45 1/3 innings in 2023, logging a 4.57 ERA but issuing an alarming 45 walks along the way. Keller’s season ended early due to thoracic outlet symptoms. He inked a minor league deal with the ChiSox during the offseason and has made one scoreless relief appearance (1 2/3 innings) in addition to three starts at the Triple-A level, where he turned in a 4.50 ERA in 16 innings and piled up grounders at a huge 62.5% clip.

Clevinger will be entering his second season with the Sox. He started 24 games for the South Siders last year and notched a 3.77 ERA with a 20% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 30.9% ground-ball rate. Despite a solid season on the mound, Clevinger lingered in free agency and ultimately settled on a one-year, $3MM deal to return to the White Sox. He signed late enough that he required the current Triple-A tune-up before joining the big league rotation.

It’s not immediately clear who’ll lose their spot. Nastrini and Cannon have both already been optioned to Triple-A. Soroka and Flexen are veteran stopgaps who are only signed for the current season. Flexen has struggled mightily in the rotation and fared better in a pair of bullpen appearances, but as mentioned, he had a nice performance in today’s series finale against the Twins. Soroka has completed five innings in just three of his seven starts. Crochet’s workload figures to be monitored after he pitched just 24 1/3 frames last year in his return from 2022 Tommy John surgery. He’s never topped 54 1/3 innings in a professional season since being selected in the first round of the 2020 draft.

April 1, 9:50pm: Clevinger’s deal with the White Sox will pay him $3MM in 2024, with an additional $3MM available in incentives (per Robert Murray of FanSided).

4:55pm: The White Sox and right-hander Mike Clevinger are in agreement on a deal, pending a physical, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The full details of the pact for the ACES client are not yet known, though Jon Heyman of The New York Post relays that it’s a one-year deal.

Clevinger, 33, was one of many free agents to linger on the open market for a very long time, as the offseason turned out to be far slower than anyone had anticipated. He had signed with the White Sox last winter, a one-year deal with a $12MM guarantee. It was later reported that Clevinger was under investigation for domestic violence allegations, though that investigation concluded without the pitcher receiving any discipline.

He went on to have a decent season for the Sox, throwing 131 1/3 innings with a 3.77 earned run average. He went on the injured list twice, the first due to right wrist inflammation and the second due to right biceps inflammation, but still managed to take the ball 24 times.

Though the ERA was nice, there were other numbers that were less impressive. His 20% strikeout rate was below league average and well below the 28% rate Clevinger posted from 2017 to 2020. He underwent Tommy John surgery in November of 2020, missing the entire 2021 season, and hasn’t been quite the same since his return. His velo hasn’t quite come all the way back to pre-surgery levels and he only struck out 18.8% of batters faced in 2022.

In 2023, luck may have helped him keep his ERA low, as his .281 batting average on balls in play and 77.2% strand rate were both on the fortunate side. His 4.28 FIP and 4.81 SIERA suggest he may not have been as effective as the ERA make him look.

Perhaps it was those underlying metrics or maybe it was just a side effect of the generally weak offseason, but Clevinger didn’t find a deal to his liking during the winter and will now be signing after the 2024 campaign has already begun.

The Sox don’t need Clevinger to be an ace, as simply having him eat some innings should be useful to them. They traded away Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn last year as they kicked off a rebuild, then flipped Dylan Cease this winter and moved Michael Kopech into a relief role. Touki Toussaint was outrighted off the roster and Jesse Scholtens required Tommy John surgery. With José Ureña having signed with the Rangers, the Sox came into the 2024 season with every pitcher that made more than three starts for them in 2023 either gone, injured or in the bullpen, prior to Clevinger’s return.

The rotation currently consists of new arrivals. Reliever Garrett Crochet is going in the opposite direction of Kopech, while Michael Soroka was acquired in a trade and Erick Fedde and Chris Flexen were signed as free agents. The club also brought in Jared Shuster, Jake Eder and Jairo Iriarte via trades in the past year, but each has been optioned for work in Triple-A.

That leaves one spot open, which Clevinger will fill at some point. Since he missed all of Spring Training, he will presumably need a bit of tune-up time to get into game shape, even if he’s been building up a pitch count in some unofficial capacity.

Any of their current starters could find themselves available at the trade deadline, which could further open up the need for innings. Soroka and Flexen are both impending free agents while Fedde is controlled through 2025 and Crochet through 2026. With the club’s timeline for a return to contention unclear, there would be an argument for making any of those guys available.

If those players end up getting moved, some of the aforementioned younger pitchers could get an audition but the likelihood of needing someone to take the ball is high, with injuries sure to crop up throughout the year. If Clevinger can find a way to get his strikeouts back, he could pitch himself into a trade scenario as well.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

• The Dodgers and Will Smith signing an extension (3:30)
• The White Sox re-sign Mike Clevinger (9:30)
• Live reaction to the breaking news of Joey Bart being traded from the Giants to the Pirates (16:25)
• The Yankees acquiring Jon Berti in a three-team trade with the Rays and Marlins (22:05)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

• Let’s say it’s trade deadline time and the Diamondbacks are basically a longshot to make the playoffs and want to dump payroll. Do you think there could be a reunion for Jordan Montgomery to be traded to the Rangers? The contract is right with the option or does he have a no-trade clause? (31:40)
• Are international free agents eligible for extensions right away or is there a certain waiting period? I ask this because of the impending Roki Sasaki situation. Could he sign with an MLB team next year and play that first year for peanuts knowing that he has a handshake mega deal agreement in place that kicks in the following year? (34:10)
• Is there a particular reason that you can’t trade a draft pick in the MLB the same way you can in leagues like the NFL? I know you there is a system in place for trading competitive balance picks, but I mean for just normal picks. I ask because I am a Mets fan and a Gators fan and it hurts that Jac Caglianone probably isn’t going to fall to 18. (41:55)

Check out our past episodes!

• A Live Reaction To The Jordan Montgomery Signing, Shohei Ohtani’s Interpreter, And J.D. Martinez Joins The Mets – listen here
• Mutiny In The MLBPA, Blake Snell Signs With The Giants And The Dylan Cease Trade – listen here
• Injured Pitchers, Brayan Bello’s Extension, Mookie Betts At Shortstop And J.D. Davis – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Heyman writes that the Yankees remained in talks with Montgomery’s agent, Scott Boras, in the days leading up to his deal with the Diamondbacks but that the fourth tier of the luxury tax, which levies a 110% tax rate on spending beyond $297MM, proved to be a major obstacle in negotiations between the sides. While the Yankees suggested a four-year deal to the southpaw’s camp (which Heyman indicates may not have reached the “offer” stage of negotiations), the hypothetical pact would have guaranteed Montgomery just $72MM with heavy deferrals that Heyman indicates would have taken the deal’s net-present value to just $46MM.

That $11.5MM AAV clocks in at less than half of the $25MM Montgomery will earn in 2024, and the total guarantee over four seasons is less than the $47.5MM Montgomery would be able to earn over two seasons provided he makes at least 18 starts in 2024. While Montgomery was rumored to be searching for a long-term deal even as the calendar flipped to March, it would have been a shock if the left-hander hadn’t been able to beat the club’s offer elsewhere on the free agent market. With Montgomery now off the table, the Yankees figure to enter the regular season with a starting rotation of Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil while ace right-hander Gerrit Cole nurses inflammation in his elbow.

More from around the AL East…

• The Red Sox were also frequently tied to Montgomery as a potential suitor this winter, and were a frequently speculated destination for a number of starters in all tiers of free agency. Despite that wide-ranging reported interest, however, the club only came away with right-hander Lucas Giolito this winter. In the wake of Giolito undergoing an internal brace procedure on his UCL this spring the club also added righty Chase Anderson on a big league deal, though it appears they aren’t exploring further additions to their rotation mix at this point. WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported yesterday that the club has not made an offer to the lone remaining free agent starter of note, right-hander Mike Clevinger, who pitched to a 3.77 ERA in 24 starts with the White Sox last year. The club’s internal options of Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, and Garrett Whitlock will need to take a major step forward this season in order to improve upon the 4.68 ERA last year’s rotation mix posted despite losing veteran lefties Chris Sale and James Paxton.
• The Rays have struggled with injuries to their positional corps this spring, and key pieces such as Josh Lowe, Taylor Walls, and Jonathan Aranda are all slated to open the season on the injured list. Those injuries have created an opportunity for one player, however, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times noted this evening that infielder Austin Shenton is slated to make the Rays’ Opening Day roster as the final piece of the club’s bench mix. Shenton, 26, has never appeared in the majors before and struggled to a .195/.214/.244 line in 15 games this spring but excelled at the plate in the minors last year, raking to the tune of a .304/.423/.584 slash line in 134 games split between the Double- and Triple-A levels. Shenton has experience at first, second, and third base as well as both outfield corners and figures to act as a left-handed complement to the likes of Harold Ramirez, Amed Rosario, and Curtis Mead in the club’s positional mix to open the season.

The news regarding Clevinger’s market sets up a contrast between the veteran right-hander and the other free agent starting pitchers still available. Top-of-the-market southpaws Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are both seeking pricey multi-year contracts, with the latest reporting on Snell indicating that the lefty is seeking an opt-out laden two- or three-year guarantee with an AAV in the $30MM range, while Montgomery was rumored to be angling for a seven-year pact earlier this month. Even righty Michael Lorenzen, the other mid-market pitcher still available, is reportedly seeking a two-year deal, with recent reports indicating that the 32-year-old has turned down one-year offers in the $5-7MM range.

While it’s not clear where Clevinger’s salary expectations are as things stand, it’s nonetheless easy to see the 33-year-old’s willingness to accept a one-year deal making the right-hander a more attractive option for clubs looking to bolster their pitching depth with less than two weeks remaining until Opening Day. The dwindling time to find a new home before the season begins is perhaps even more significant for Clevinger than it is for other players left on the market, as the veteran has not been publicly connected to any of MLB’s 30 clubs since hitting free agency back in November.

Despite that lack of public interest, the veteran was clearly among the more interesting mid-to-back of the rotation options available this winter, even as free agency was just getting started. While Clevinger can hardly be expected to replicate the early-career dominance he enjoyed in Cleveland that saw him compare favorably to front-of-the-rotation arms such as Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer, a strong platform campaign with the White Sox last year saw Clevinger flash mid-rotation results. Despite being limited to just 131 1/3 innings by a right wrist injury, the veteran posted a solid 3.77 ERA with a 4.28 FIP in Chicago last season, with even stronger results after returning from the injury in late July. Over his final 12 starts last year, Clevinger pitched to a 3.67 ERA with a nearly-matching 3.75 FIP.

That solid mid-rotation performance comes with some questionable peripherals, however. While Clevinger’s velocity returned in his second season back from Tommy John surgery last year as he average 94.6 mph with his heater, he struck out just 20% of batters faced while generating grounders at a career-worst 30.9% clip. Clevinger’s below-average strikeout and groundball rates are a far cry from his peak years in Cleveland, when he struck out 28.3% of batters faced to go along with a 40.3% grounder rate. Even with those diminished peripherals, however, Clevinger figured to be an excellent option for a club looking to bolster the back of its rotation this winter.

Of course, that hasn’t panned out to this point as Clevinger remains on the market, but a rash of pitching injuries around the game could perhaps open the door for Clevinger to latch on with a club in need of starting depth entering the season. The Red Sox, Astros, Marlins, Yankees, and Giants have all faced unexpected injuries in the rotation throughout the spring, and Clevinger could be a cost-effective insurance policy for any of those clubs if they wish to bolster their rotation in light of those injuries. While the veteran right-hander can’t be expected to replace the production of a front-of-the-rotation arm such as Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, or Eury Perez, his ability to offer stability to the middle or back of a club’s rotation could help raise the floor for a rotation-needy club ahead of Opening Day. What’s more, his apparent desire for a straight one-year pact provides flexibility that could be particularly attractive to clubs such as the Astros or Marlins that figure to have plenty of rotation depth in the long-term but are currently struggling with multiple injuries.

Top-of-the-Market Arms

• Blake Snell: The two-time Cy Young Award winner has reportedly been seeking a deal worth $200MM or more. The Yankees are said to have offered Snell something in the vicinity of $150MM over a six-year term, but it’s understandable if Snell and agent Scott Boras are aiming higher coming off the lefty’s NL Cy Young win. The Yankees gave a larger contract to Carlos Rodon last offseason despite a shorter track record. Snell’s shaky command has been a talking point throughout his free agency, but an elevated 13.3% walk rate didn’t hinder him much in 2023 when he pitched 180 innings of 2.25 ERA ball and whiffed 31.5% of his opponents. Snell made the easy call to reject a qualifying offer. He’ll eventually land a nine-figure contract, in all likelihood. Beyond the Yankees, he’s been connected to the Giants, Angels and Blue Jays.
• Jordan Montgomery: Montgomery’s climb from Tommy John rehab to bona fide playoff starter was steady and arguably under the radar — at least until last year’s postseason heroics. The 31-year-old has posted a sub-4.00 ERA and started 30-plus games in each of his three full seasons back from Tommy John surgery, steadily adding more innings each season. Taken in total, he’s pitched 524 1/3 innings of 3.48 ERA ball since Opening Day 2021, highlighted by a career-best 3.20 earned run average in a career-high 188 2/3 frames in 2023. Add in the 33 2/3 postseason innings of 2.67 ERA he’s chipped in, and the profile looks even better. Montgomery isn’t a flamethrower but is a durable arm with average strikeout and ground-ball rates, strong command and a repeated ability to manage hard contact. The Rangers want him back but are facing some financial questions regarding their television broadcast outlook. Other teams to which Montgomery has been tied include the Red Sox, Yankees and Cardinals.

Solid Innings

• Mike Clevinger: Fans who remember Clevinger’s peak days in Cleveland probably value him more than the current market does. The now-33-year-old righty had a brief but excellent peak in 2017-20 when he tossed 489 1/3 innings and logged a 2.96 ERA. Clevinger missed the 2021 season following Tommy John surgery, however, and had a pedestrian 2022 campaign in San Diego. Last year’s 3.77 ERA in 131 1/3 innings with the White Sox was a step forward, but since returning from surgery Clevinger touts a lackluster 19.4% strikeout rate. His velocity is down a mile per hour from its peak, and he’s allowing more hard contact than ever — as well as more fly-balls than ever. Clevinger made 32 starts and pitched 200 innings in 2018. He’s never reached 25 starts in another season. He can improve the back of most teams’ rotations, but counting on him for more than 120 innings is tough.
• Michael Lorenzen: A big first half with the Tigers and a memorable no-hitter in his second start following a trade to the Phillies looked to have positioned Lorenzen for a sizable contract this winter. Things went south in a hurry following that no-hitter for the 32-year-old righty, however. Lorenzen hadn’t topped 100 innings since his rookie season and looked to hit a wall following that hitless gem. He allowed 23 runs in 26 innings over his next five starts, was dropped to the bullpen and immediately tagged for four runs in one-third of an inning. Lorenzen pitched 30 1/3 innings following the no-no and yielded an 8.01 ERA. Even prior to his slowdown, Lorenzen was sporting a well below-average strikeout rate. With last year’s 153-inning performance and 4.18 ERA fresh in mind, he’s a candidate to serve as a fourth starter somewhere.
• Hyun Jin Ryu: Many of the numbers for Ryu in his return from Tommy John surgery last year looked good: a 3.46 ERA, a 6.3% walk rate, a 45.6% ground-ball rate. Ryu, however, fanned only 17% of his opponents — a far cry from his 27.5% peak. He also managed only 52 innings in 11 starts — an average of about 4 2/3 frames per outing. Ryu only recorded an out after the fifth inning one time in 2023, and he had only 33 plate appearances in which he was facing his opponent for the third time in a game. His 88.8 mph average fastball was a career-low. Ryu can still help a rotation, but it’ll be hard to treat him like more than a pure five-inning pitcher, given last year’s usage.

Injury Cases

• Clayton Kershaw: In early November, Kershaw announced that he’d undergone surgery “to repair the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule” in his left shoulder. If that sounds ominous, it is. He’s expected to be sidelined into the summer of 2024 at the very least. Kershaw was also a free agent last offseason, and the prevailing wisdom was that he’d re-sign with the Dodgers or sign with his hometown Rangers, whose stadium is just a few miles from Kershaw’s offseason home. The Dodgers have said they want Kershaw back, but all parties are taking their time as he mends from that surgery. Once he’s ready to make a decision, it seems like it’ll come down to L.A. and Texas once again.
• Brandon Woodruff: The longtime Brewers co-ace was non-tendered after undergoing shoulder surgery that’s expected to sideline late into the 2024 season. Woodruff would’ve been a free agent following the 2024 campaign anyhow, and the Brewers were understandably wary about paying him a projected $11.6MM in arbitration when he can’t even be considered a lock to pitch this year. Woodruff is a candidate to sign a high-priced two-year deal that’d allow him to spend the bulk of the 2024 campaign rehabbing. In an ideal scenario, he’d return late in the year to get some innings in before stepping back into a full rotation role in 2025. He fits best with a deep-pocketed team willing to take a chance on his 2025 season and capable of absorbing the financial hit if he can’t return to form. From 2018-23, Woodruff pitched 637 1/3 innings with a 2.98 ERA, 29.7% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 42.4% ground-ball rate.

Former Dodgers hurlers Trevor Bauer and Julio Urias are both unsigned but could be long shots to return to MLB. No team signed Bauer last offseason after his record suspension under the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy was lifted; he’d been given a 324-game ban after sexual assault allegations arose, but that ban was reduced to 194 games after an appeal. The Los Angeles district attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges but did not proclaim Bauer innocent; rather, the DA’s office stated that proving the charges “beyond a reasonable doubt” was not feasible. Bauer signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and made 19 starts for their big league club, totaling 130 2/3 innings with a 2.76 ERA.

Urias, meanwhile, is currently under investigation after the DA declined to pursue felony charges following abuse allegations against the pitcher. He was referred for misdemeanor consideration, and the case is ongoing. Urias was allegedly captured on video in a physical altercation with a woman following an LAFC Major League Soccer match back in September. MLB has yet to conduct its own investigation while waiting for the legal process to play out. He finished the season on paid administrative leave. If the league eventually brings forth a suspension, Urias would become the first player to ever be suspended twice under MLB’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.

It’s something of a surprise that Clevinger’s market has involved such little fanfare, as the righty was one of the most dominant young arms in the league with Cleveland in the late 2010’s. From 2017 to 2019, Clevinger dominated across 447 2/3 innings of work with a 2.96 ERA that was a whopping 52% better than league average by measure of ERA+. The righty struck out 28.3% of batters faced against a 9.1% walk rate, good for a FIP of 3.32. Among pitchers with at least 400 innings of work across those three seasons, Clevinger’s ERA ranked sixth in the majors behind a quintet of multi-time Cy Young award winners: Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, and Corey Kluber.

Dominant as Clevinger was, the right-hander was shipped from Cleveland to San Diego at the 2020 trade deadline and wound up requiring Tommy John surgery just four starts into his tenure with the Padres. Rehab wiped out his entire 2021 season, and the right-hander returned in 2022 to post the worst season of his career. In 117 1/3 innings of work, Clevinger struggled to a 4.33 ERA with a 4.98 FIP, the first time he posted a ERA+ below the league average since becoming a full-time starter in 2017.

Clevinger’s peripherals also suffered considerably. Though the right-hander entered the 2022 campaign with a strong 27.3% career strikeout rate, he punched out just 18.8% of batters faced in his first year back from surgery. His batted ball metrics suffered as well: while he had generated grounders at a 40.3% clip during his peak years in Cleveland, that figure fell to just 35.2% with the Padres in 2022. The difficult season led Clevinger to sign a one-year, $12MM deal with the White Sox last offseason, and the righty made good on that deal by turning in a solid performance last year.

Clevinger’s time on the south side of Chicago got off to a rough start as he struggled to a 4.84 ERA across his first seven starts, but the right-hander settled in from there to bring his ERA down to just 3.88 by the time a wrist injury sent him to the injured list in mid-June. That success carried over when Clevinger returned to action six weeks later, and he entered the month of September with a sterling 2.45 ERA and solid 3.88 FIP in his last eleven starts. Clevinger mostly cruised through the month of September until his final appearance of the year, where he was torched for six runs in just 1 2/3 innings of work to leave him with a 3.77 ERA and 4.28 FIP on the season.

While Clevinger flashed his previous, dominant form at various points throughout the 2023 season and saw his average fastball velocity tick back up to 94.6, higher than his career average, it seems unlikely the veteran righty would be able to fully rediscover his previous form over a full season. After all, Clevinger’s groundball rate was at a career-worst 30.9% last season and while his strikeout rate did improve over 2022 it still sat at just 20%. That’s a far cry from the 33.9% clip Clevinger punched out batters at back in 2019 and pretty significantly below league average this past year.

Even so, the right-hander figures to be a quality, innings eating veteran who a club can comfortably place in the middle-to-back of their rotation in 2024. While Clevinger’s strikeout and groundball rates left something to be desired last year, he flashed strong command with a walk rate of just 7.3% while maintaining hard-hit and barrel rates significantly better than league average. Combined with his rediscovered velocity, it’s easy to see how the veteran right-hander could be an above average big league starter next season. If he can live up to that billing, the right-hander might prove to be a steal for the club that ultimately signs him this winter.

MLBTR projected Clevinger for a two-year, $26MM deal on our annual Top 50 MLB free agents list, where he placed 30th. That $13MM AAV would be something of a steal for a solid, mid-rotation arm this offseason given the pricey one-year deals arms like Frankie Montas ($16MM), and Jack Flaherty ($14MM) signed on the heels of seasons marred by injury and under performance. Meanwhile, the likes of Lucas Giolito ($19.3MM AAV) and Michael Wacha ($16MM AAV) managed to surpass those marks on multi-year guarantees. While Giolito is three-and-a-half years younger than Clevinger and Wacha has a stronger recent track record, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where Clevinger posts comparable numbers to either pitcher in 2024 at a lower price point.

The veteran righty has been something of a ghost on the rumor mill this offseason, with few if any clubs directly connected to the right-hander. With that being said, plenty of teams are known to be in the market for starting pitching this winter including the Red Sox, Orioles, Angels, Giants, Yankees, and Cubs. Any of those teams could benefit from adding Clevinger to their rotation mix, and he could prove to be an attractive backup option for teams that either can’t afford or fall short in the bidding for top-of-the-market arms like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, or who are unwilling to meet the asking prices for potential trade candidates like Dylan Cease and Shane Bieber.

Clevinger spent one season on Chicago’s south side. He inked a $12MM guarantee last winter, collecting an $8MM salary and the buyout. He worked to a 3.88 ERA over 12 starts before biceps inflammation sent him to the injured list on June 16. The injury cost him six weeks and, arguably more importantly, a chance to pitch his way into trade candidacy. Clevinger was only able to make one start between his reinstatement from the injured list and the deadline.

That left the Sox to retain him for the remainder of a noncompetitive season. Chicago attempted to offload Clevinger’s salary by placing him on waivers in August. He went unclaimed, presumably because no other team wanted to take on the option buyout. The right-hander had an excellent August before a middling September. He concluded the year with a 3.77 ERA across 131 1/3 innings. Clevinger struck out a slightly below-average 20% of opponents against a solid 7.3% walk rate.

Turning 33 in December, he has a good chance to land a multi-year contract this offseason. While a two-year deal seems likely, it’s not out of the question he finds a three-year pact. That made it a fairly easy call for his camp to pass on the net $8MM deal with Chicago.

The White Sox will need to add multiple starting pitchers this winter. Dylan Cease may be the only pitcher certain to occupy a spot in the Opening Day five. Michael Kopech figures to battle for a job, while Garrett Crochet has angled for a rotation opportunity. Jesse Scholtens and Touki Toussaint occupied back-end roles for the stretch run.