Free Agency has begun. There has been a lot of smaller moves but SP Mike Clevinger and 1B/DH Jose Abreu have found new homes. These guys are well known players in their own right. Let us begin with Mike Clevinger.
The right handed Clevinger got his Major league start in Cleveland with the former Indians, current Guardians. He was then a part of that famous San Diego/ Cleveland in which a bunch of players that helped the Guardians get to ALDS. Meanwhile in San Diego with the Padres, Clevinger remained for 2 years. However, Clevinger missed 2021 with an Tommy John surgery. Clevinger has signed with the White Sox for 1 year 12 million dollars. The story of Mike Clevinger, statistically is one of constant improvement and consistent performance. Despite the fact, he bounced around to three different teams in his 6 years of MLB experience. Let’s take a look:
When you look at Clevinger stats, you can see why the White Sox took a chance on him. Of course 12 million for 1 year is a prove it deal. But his consistent sub 4.00 ERA since 2017, and his consistent 140+ ERA+ since 2017 kind of tells you how good he is. If you look at the 6 year average for HR/9, BB/9 and SO/9, Clevinger is a mid-tier, 3-4 starting pitcher. On a bad staff, he’s probably a 2 starter. HIs SO/9 is great at 9.5 and walk rate is good enough. The concern will be his HR/9 which at 1.1 is a bit high. This is was a good move for the White Sox. He also joining an already good rotation with Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Lance Lynn.
A former, career long White Sox Jose Abreu has decided to join the World Series Champions, Houston Astros. In his age 36 season, with 9 years of MLB experience. Abreu signed a 3 year 58.5 million dollar contract with the Astros. He throws and bats right. Abreu has a laundry list of accomplishments including a MVP, Rookie of the Year, 3x sliver slugger, and 3x All Star. Abreu has been a good hitter his whole career. The stats back this up. His time at DH kinda speaks for his defense at first base. That being said, after letting Trey Mancini go, I think the Astros made a great move. Lets see the stats:
I usually don’t go full fat stat brick but notice the award column. He has a lot of votes of MVP in multiple different years. You can also see the multiple times that Abreu led league in some offensive category, once in hits, twice in RBI and once in slugging percentage. If you look at his 9 year averages, you would easily pick a .292 BA/.354 OBP/.506 SLG/.860 OPS hitter to be on your team. Thats what you want your designated hitter to look like. I believe that despite his age, at the end of his deal he will be 39, the Astros won’t regret it. Abreu will continue to produce at a high level assuming he can stay healthy.
Thanks for reading! Also make sure to check out my social media page and subscribe to the blog for updates!
Thank you to Baseball Reference and Baseball Savant for the statistics.
Technically Analytics 