The White Sox are wasting a golden opportunity to make the perfect September call-up

Prior to Sunday afternoon's series finale against the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox placed starting pitcher Aaron Civale on waivers, who was promptly claimed by the Chicago Cubs.

With Civale no longer on the roster, the White Sox called up right-handed pitcher Bryse Wilson from Triple-A, who struggled the tune of a 6.95 ERA the last time he was with the big league club.

Wilson provides almost no long-term value to the White Sox. Frankly, I’d rather see almost anybody else take up the now vacant spot in Chicago's starting rotation.

With rosters expanding to 28 players at the start of September, the White Sox now have room to make an ideal September call up happen, but it appears they are blowing that golden opportunity.

The White Sox should call up Tanner McDougal

22-year-old right-handed pitcher Tanner McDougal found his stride earlier this season with High-A Winston-Salem.

After a promotion to Double-A, McDougal has been even better. He has a 2.13 ERA in over 50 innings pitched for the Barons. His 11.0 K/9 in the minor leagues this season speaks to his dominance.

While the White Sox have had McDougal on a hard pitch count over the last six weeks, therefore limiting his ability to get deep into ball games, He has still been getting outs and working efficiently. Even if it’s just in a long relief role, the White Sox need to use expanded rosters to make McDougal a September call-up.

White Sox fans are probably familiar with the Rule 5 Draft by now. That’s how the club acquired All-Star starting pitcher Shane Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers last offseason.

A player becomes Rule 5 Draft eligible once they have been in the minor leagues long enough without being added to their team’s 40-man roster. The exact timing depends on the player’s age at signing.

For McDougal, who signed with the White Sox when he was 18 years old, he has five seasons to be added to the 40-man roster. That means he's eligible to be stolen away in the Rule 5 Draft if he's not added to the 40-man by December.

With that being a no-brainer for the organization, why not call him up in September and get him a look against big league pitching? Instead, the White Sox appear to be turning to Mike Clevinger, giving him yet another chance with the team.

Mike Clevinger appears headed to Chicago

34-year-old starting pitcher Mike Clevinger was a late scratch from his start in Triple-A on Sunday night. All signs point to him being added to the White Sox active roster at the start of September, and likely him taking Civale's spot in the rotation.

Clevinger was on Chicago's active roster on Opening Day after being converted to a high-leverage reliever in the spring. He didn't take to the transition well, walking eight (8) batters and giving up five (5) runs in 5.2 innings pitched before being sent down.

Clevinger has been stretching back out into a starter with Charlotte. He's made 18 starts and posted a 4.22 ERA in the minor leagues this season.

It's not that Clevinger isn't capable fo getting outs and eating innings. If his minor league results are any indication, he'll be just as serviceable as Civale for the White Sox to close out September.

It just feels like a waste of a roster spot at this point in the rebuild to give Clevinger big league innings over some deserving young pitchers.

Shane Murphy and Jake Palisch are both very deserving with all the success they've had this season. As I already mentioned, Tanner McDougal is about to be Rule 5 eligible if he's not added to the roster soon.

Any of those guys would be an exciting watch for White Sox fans, who are only tuning in this time of year for young talent that can be built around in the future. Unfortunately, the fanbase is saddled with more Mike Clevinger over the next few weeks as another painful season comes to a close.