White Sox Place Mike Clevinger On 15-Day IL
May 22: The Sox announced that Scholtens has indeed been recalled from Charlotte to take Clevinger’s spot on the roster. They’ll go with a bullpen game against Cleveland tonight rather than giving Scholtens a conventional start, however. Right-hander Jimmy Lambert, who hasn’t pitched more than 1 2/3 innings in any outing this year, has been announced as Chicago’s starter.
May 21: The White Sox placed right-hander Mike Clevinger on the 15-day IL, retroactive to May 18, with wrist inflammation prior to today’s game against the Royals, the club announced. Clevinger was expected to start tomorrow’s game against the Guardians, but will instead be out for at least the rest of the month. He’ll be first eligible to return in early June, though there’s no clear timeline for Clevinger’s return at this time. No corresponding move has been announced, with the White Sox expecting to make a move ahead of tomorrow’s game against Cleveland.
Clevinger once appeared to be among the most promising young starters in the sport, as he posted a 2.96 ERA and 3.39 FIP over 489 1/3 innings from 2017-2020. That four year stretch of dominance saw him record a 28% strikeout rate while walking just 9% of batters he faced. Unfortunately for Clevinger, he would miss the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, ultimately returning to the mound early in the 2022 campaign.
Upon his return from the surgery, Clevinger’s fastball velocity had dipped from 95.1 mph down to 93.6 mph. In addition to the lost velocity, the right-hander has seen a major dip in his production since returning to the mound, with a 4.40 ERA and 5.02 FIP in ten starts since the beginning of the 2022 campaign. Clevinger, who is in Chicago on a one-year, $12MM deal this season, is far from the only White Sox starter struggling so far in 2023, as each of Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, and Lance Lynn have ERAs above 4.50 this season.
While Clevinger looks to fight off his current ailment and get things back on track, the White Sox could potentially turn to Jesse Scholtens in the rotation, as the right-hander is the only other healthy starter on the 40-man roster. Scholtens, who made his MLB debut earlier this season, has a 3.00 ERA in three innings of work for the White Sox this season and a 3.99 ERA in 38 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level. Other possible option include Daniel Ponce de Leon and Luke Farrell, though both would require a 40-man roster spot.
White Sox Claim Nick Solak; Place Yoán Moncada On IL
The White Sox announced a batch of roster moves this afternoon. Outfielder Eloy Jiménez was reinstated from the injured list, swapping places with third baseman Yoán Moncada, who lands on the 10-day IL retroactive to April 11 with lower back soreness. Infielder/outfielder Nick Solak was also claimed off waivers from the Mariners and optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, with right-hander Matt Foster transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Additionally, right-hander Jesse Scholtens was optioned to Charlotte while left-hander Tanner Banks was recalled.
Solak, 28, has bounced around the league quite a bit over the past six months or so. After spending four seasons with the Rangers, he was flipped to the Reds for cash considerations in November. He didn’t impress in spring and was designated for assignment on Opening Day. The Mariners acquired him at that time, with Solak being dealt for cash yet again. After a couple of weeks in the Mariners’ system, he was designated for assignment again and now lands with the Sox.
The fact that Solak is in a limbo zone where various teams are interested in his abilities yet he keeps losing his roster spot is a reflection of his uneven career so far. He debuted with the Rangers in 2019 by posting a .293/.393/.491 batting line and 126 wRC+ in 33 games. But he hit just .246/.317/.354 in the next three seasons for a wRC+ of 88. Despite those struggles at the big league level, he’s continued to flash promise in the minors, hitting .289/.368/.503 in Triple-A.
The White Sox will now be the latest team to give him a shot and see what happens. He still has an option remaining and will head to Charlotte for now. A second baseman earlier in his career, he was pushed into a corner outfield role when the Rangers signed Marcus Semien. It remains to be seen how the Sox deploy Solak for the Knights, but they do have a question mark at second base, as Tim Anderson‘s injury has moved Elvis Andrus over to shortstop. That leaves utility players like Romy González, Hanser Alberto and Lenyn Sosa covering second, though Moncada’s injury means they’re needed at third base as well. The outfield corners are a bit more secure with Andrew Benintendi and Óscar Colás taking those spots on a regular basis.
Moncada has been dealing with the back issue for the past few days, having last started on Sunday. Just a few days ago, manager Pedro Grifol said it was possible that Moncada could be ready for action by this weekend, per James Fegan of The Athletic, but it seems the club will give him a bit of a breather to recuperate. He was off to a hot start, currently hitting .308/.325/.564, but that will now be put on pause. By backdating the IL placement, he could potentially be back in a week if he heals up as hoped. His roster spot will go to Jiménez, who is back after just a minimum stay on the IL. He was originally expected to miss about two or three weeks but has beaten that timeline slightly. Within days of going on the IL, he told Fegan that he was feeling much better and would have been available to pinch hit if were still active.
As for Foster, he started the season on the 15-day injured list with a right flexor strain. It’s unclear what his timeline for return is, but he will now be ineligible until late May. The 60-day count goes from his initial IL placement and not today’s transfer.
White Sox Designate José Ruiz, Select Jesse Scholtens
The White Sox announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jesse Scholtens, while fellow righty José Ruiz has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Ruiz, 28, was claimed off waivers from Padres in December of 2017 and has been with the White Sox since that time. Over his first five years with the club, he posted generally solid numbers, including a 4.17 ERA over 174 appearances. His 11.1% walk rate was a bit high, but his 23% strikeout rate and 40.6% ground ball rate were both close to league average. Unfortunately, he’s been rocked in the early going here in 2023, allowing nine earned runs already through 3 2/3 innings.
The Sox will now have a week to trade Ruiz or pass him through waivers. He passed the three-year service time mark last year, meaning that he qualified for arbitration for the first time. He and the club agreed to a salary of $925K. Since he’s over that three-year mark, if he clears waivers and is outrighted, he will have the right to reject the assignment and elect free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service time, he would have to leave that money on the table in order to hit the open market.
Scholtens, 29, cracks a major league roster for the first time after many years in the minors. He was selected by the Padres in the ninth round of the 2016 draft. He moved his way up the minors with that organization, working primarily as a starter, but never got added to their roster. Last year, he made 17 starts and 22 relief appearances in Triple-A, posting a 4.10 ERA in 83 1/3 innings. He struck out 25.4% of batters faced while walking 8.6% and getting grounders on 37.9% of balls in play. He reached free agency at the end of the season and signed a minor league deal with the White Sox.
The White Sox were roughed up a bit this week, allowing 31 runs in a three-game series against the Giants. Scholtens will give them a fresh arm in the bullpen and could perhaps serve as a multi-inning option, as James Fegan of The Athletic points out that Scholtens was stretched out during Spring Training. The righty already made one Triple-A start, tossing 74 pitchers over four innings on Saturday.