Say what you want about Mike Clevinger as a person but Mike Clevinger the pitcher is making a strong case for the White Sox to pick up his 2024 mutual option.
On Tuesday Clevinger tossed his third career complete game. He allowed just one run on six hits, with seven strikeouts and no walks against the Nationals.
He was just one pitch away from a complete game shutout until he left a fastball over the heart of the plate on a 1-2 count and Dominic Smith launched it 419 feet into right field. Clevinger took issue with Smith taking his time around the basepaths and flipping his bat. The two exchanged words as Smith crossed home plate with Clevinger pointing at the scoreboard as the benches cleared.
“He stayed at the plate for 10 seconds after getting absolutely obliterated all night and then when he went around the bases still wanted to do it because I kept holding my glove up to show Pedro I wasn’t ready to come out of the game,” Clevinger told reporters after the game. “Then he wanted to continue to mock me after him and everybody else just didn’t have a good night. I gave my piece, and then that was it.”
Clevinger promptly struck out Carter Kieboom for the final out once everyone calmed down. His complete game lowered his ERA to 3.42 on the season and improved his record to 8-8.
Like him or not there is no denying that Clevinger has been the White Sox most consistent starter this season. He was brought in this offseason to be the White Sox fifth starter. Had the rest of the rotation done their job this would look like an excellent pickup for the White Sox. He has provided the rotation with the depth they were looking for and then some.
His strikeout rate is up to 21.1 % which is up 2.3% from last season. According to Baseball Savant his Pitching Run Value is in the MLB’s 85th percentile. His Fastball, Breaking, and Offspeed Run Values all rank in the 80th percentile or higher. Clevinger has also logged nine quality starts which leads the team.
On top of that, he looks like one of the few players that still cares. Before the first game of a White Sox doubleheader on September 12th, Clevinger addressed his teammates about their effort during the dog days of summer.
“I was like, ‘This is a mental toughness game,” Clevinger told reporters after throwing six innings of two-run ball on September 13th. “You are playing against yourself right now and the other team.”
“It’s easy to let your guard down in these moments, but it’s still going to go on the back of your baseball card at the end of the day.’
This message to his teammates came on a day that he wasn’t even scheduled to pitch. He backed up that message by throwing a quality start the next day during a 7-1 loss to the Royals.
It is easy to dislike Clevinger. He didn’t earn himself any fans with the domestic abuse and child abuse allegations during the offseason. But after an investigation by the MLB Clevinger avoided discipline.
Clevinger is not the first player with a checkered past to help his team win. Across town, the Cubs won a World Series with Alrodis Chapman as their closer, who was suspended for domestic violence. Nobody batted an eye because he helped the team win.
That doesn’t excuse Clevinger’s bad behavior. That doesn’t even mean you have to root for him. But sports is about winning. The fact of the matter is the White Sox will be a better team in 2024 with Clevinger on it. The only starter locked in next year’s rotation is Dylan Cease.
Many will point to the fact that nobody picked him up when he was placed on waivers. But no MLB team was going to pay $5.42 million for a month-long rental.
By all accounts, Clevinger has been a good teammate and put in a lot of work studying metrics and analytics to improve. After having some injury issues early in the year it looks like Clevinger has found a rhythm and regained his pre-Tommy John surgery form. His fastball is reaching the upper 90s, he is pounding the strike zone and his breaking balls look sharp.
Since June 1st Clevinger has posted a 2.71 ERA in 13 starts. He is 2-2 with a 1.64 ERA on the road during that stretch.
“I feel like a broken record, but I really do feel like it’s being able to go out there and take start after start after start and not have a break,” Clevinger said. “When I can find these rhythms, I know how my body moves and I feel like the past couple years it’s been really because I’ve been having two starts on and one start off.”
Given that Clevinger is healthy and his stock is on the rise he may not even want to pick up his half of the mutual option. But if he is interested in returning it is something Chris Getz in the front office needs to strongly consider.
