Sunday, former San Diego Padres starting pitcher Mike Clevinger agreed to terms on a contract with the Chicago White Sox, The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal reports. The terms of the deal have yet to be reported.
The Padres acquired Clevinger along with Matt Waldron and Greg Allen in a 2020 midseason trade with the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Cal Quantrill, Josh Naylor, Austin Hedges, Owen Miller, Joey Cantillo and Gabriel Arias.
Clevinger missed all of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. In his lone full season with the Padres in 2022, Clevinger went 7-7 with a 4.33 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 114.1 innings pitched and 22 starts.
Clevinger’s departure opens up another spot in the Padres rotation, along with a wide variety of possibilities to potentially upgrade their pitching staff.
The Padres currently have just three starting pitchers on their active roster: Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Blake Snell.
The Padres could fill out the rest of their rotation via trade or free agency. It remains unclear at this time which pitchers might be available on the trade market, but there certainly are some strong options available via free agency right now.
The Padres could pursue Justin Verlander or Jacob deGrom. DeGrom comes with durability concerns as he enters his age-35 season. He has not made more than 15 starts in a season since 2019. Verlander is coming off his finest season yet at age-39, but age certainly is a concern for the three-time American League Cy Young.
In my opinion, the Padres should make a strong pitch to free agent Carlos Rodon.
Something clicked for Rodon in 2021 in his final season with the White Sox. After posting an ERA above 4.00 in five straight seasons, Rodon logged a 2.37 ERA, while pitching in a hitter’s park.
The White Sox declined the qualifying offer on Rodon last winter, opting instead to extend Lance Lynn. Rodon signed a ‘prove-it,’ short-term deal with the San Francisco Giants, and showed that 2021 was no fluke.
Rodon made a career-high 31 starts in 2022, going 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.
As he enters his 30s, Rodon is just beginning to hit his peak, tapping into his potential that made him the third overall pick of the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft out of North Carolina State.
Rodon looked comfortable pitching on the West Coast in 2022, and could excel pitching in another pitcher’s park in 2023 and beyond.
Not only would Rodon be a strong addition to the Padres rotation, but he would also be an upgrade from what Clevinger gave the club in 2022.
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