Somewhat early in the off-season, the Chicago White Sox signed Mike Clevinger to be the team's new fifth starter. He would take the place of Johnny Cueto who was magnificent for them in 2022.
With Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, and Michael Kopech, it was to be a rotation with some question marks but the potential to be great. Now, however, there is a wrinkle in the theory.
Clevinger is dealing with some off-the-field issues that include domestic violence and child abuse. It is important that this situation is handled properly so that the right outcome ends up being the case.
Despite some questions as to whether or not the league would put him on administrative leave, it is clear that they are not going to. He is at spring training with the Chicago White Sox with the intention of pitching for them this season.
The Chicago White Sox are going to see Mike Clevinger in spring training.
Chicago #WhiteSox pitcher Mike Clevinger, who remains under investigation for potentially violating MLB's domestic violence policy, will be permitted to fully participate at the White Sox's spring training camp. He is not being placed on administrative leave at this time.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 14, 2023
USA Today's Bob Nightengale was the first to report this news about Clevinger being able to participate in spring ball. It isn't what most people want to hear but it is the reality of the situation at hand from a baseball point of view.
The White Sox, according to themselves, didn't know about the investigation when they signed him to a contract early in the off-season. Now, they are dealing with this following a very hard 2022 season on the field. This is a very serious situation that needs to be handled with care.
Now that spring has started for pitchers and catchers, that doesn't mean that he can't be put on administrative leave at any time. In the event of that happening, he would have to miss anything in which a ticket is sold. That is something that may or may not happen at some point in 2023.
If these allegations are found to be true, the Chicago White Sox needs to cut ties with him right away. Until that happens, it sounds like he is going to be pitching in uniform for them. It is a really tough situation to see on the White Sox but that is the case right now.