Tuesday afternoon brought a wave of surprising White Sox-related moves.
According to MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal, Chicago’s best starting pitcher in 2023, Mike Clevinger, is among several MLB veterans placed on waivers. While Clevinger has produced strong results (3.32 ERA) in his lone season on the south side, the White Sox are likely looking ahead to the MLB Draft in this lost season.
Concurrently, according to MLB Insider Jeff Passan, former Chicago White Sox arms Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez were among five Los Angeles Angels placed on waivers in a pure salary dump.
All players placed on waivers can be claimed on Thursday, and teams gunning for playoff spots are expected to pursue aggressively. However, teams with the worst records in baseball hold waiver priorities, meaning the White Sox would currently be fourth in priority.
The aforementioned Clevinger signed a one-year, $12M deal with an option for 2024 before this season, and despite some struggles with injuries, has been the White Sox’s most consistent starting pitcher. In 97.2 IP this season, Clevinger has a 3.34 ERA/4.35 FIP, 20.8 K%, and 9.3 BB%. He’s been rather impressive over his last four starts, posting a 28.1 K%, 11.5 BB%, and 2.16 ERA
The same can’t be said for Giolito, unfortunately, since his moves to Los Angeles. In six starts with the Angels, Giolito has posted a 6.89 ERA, striking out just 22.8% of batters while walking 10.1% of them. Opponents are hitting .252 against him, and things just really haven’t gone right for him. For Lopez, things have gone much better. In 11.2 innings, he has a 2.31 ERA, 1.82 FIP, and 35.8 K%. He will likely be claimed pretty quickly by a team that needs an extra relief arm down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Players claimed on waivers would now be paid by the team that claims them, and the team that waived them would face no financial penalty. We will be sure to provide updates if and when the White Sox make any waiver-wire moves.
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