"Clevinger spent most of the 2025 season in Triple-A with the White Sox. He had a decent year, allowing a 4.20 ERA with league average strikeout (21.9%) and walk (8.5%) marks. The 34-year-old had actually broken camp with Chicago in a bullpen role, but he was taken off the roster after giving up five runs with eight walks across his first 5 2/3 innings. He built back up as a starter in the minors but never got another look from the big league club."
"That was the ninth season in which Clevinger logged some MLB action. He was an above-average starter for Cleveland early in his career. His stuff dropped off following a 2020 Tommy John surgery. Clevinger managed decent run prevention marks in 2022-23 but didn't have anywhere near the same strikeout ability as he showed before the elbow injury. He was limited to four starts in 2024 by a neck injury that required surgery."
"Pittsburgh has plenty of upside in the rotation. They've subtracted from the depth behind Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller by trading away Mike Burrows and Johan Oviedo for offensive help. Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft are entering their first full MLB seasons. With Jared Jones still recovering from last year's UCL surgery, the fifth starter job would be up for grabs among Hunter Barco, Thomas Harrington and Carmen Mlodzinski. Any Spring Training injuries would seriously test the depth."
Mike Clevinger signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and will join camp as a non-roster invitee. He spent most of 2025 in Triple-A with the White Sox, posting a 4.20 ERA with 21.9% strikeout and 8.5% walk rates. He briefly appeared on Chicago's big-league roster in a bullpen role but was removed after struggling and returned to starting in the minors without a recall. Clevinger has nine seasons of MLB experience, saw his stuff decline after 2020 Tommy John surgery, and missed significant time in 2024 for neck surgery. Pittsburgh remains short on rotation depth and continues to pursue additional mid-rotation or back-end arms; Clevinger's minor-league deal is unlikely to alter those pursuits.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]