has declined his half of a Royce Hamm Jr. Jersey $12MM mutual option on his deal with the White Sox, the team announced. He receives a $4MM buyout and qualifies for free agency. Chicago also confirmed their decision to buy out righty . Clevinger spent one season on Chicagos south side. He inked a $12MM guarantee last winter, collecting an $8MM salary and the buyout. He worked to a 3.88 ERA over 12 starts before biceps inflammation sent him to the injured list on June 16. The injury cost him six weeks and, arguably more importantly, a chance to pitch his way into trade candidacy. Clevinger was only able to make one start between his reinstatement from the injured list and the deadline. That left the Sox to retain him for the remainder of a noncompetitive season. Chicago attempted to offload Clevingers salary by placing him on waivers in August. He went unclaimed, presumably because no other team wanted to take on the option buyout. The right-hander had an excellent August before a middling September. He concluded the year with a 3.77 ERA acro s 131 1/3 innings. Clevinger struck out a slightly below-average 20% of opponents against a solid 7.3% walk rate. Turning 33 in December, he has a good chance to land a multi-year contract this offseason. While a two-year deal seems likely, its not out of the question he finds a three-year pact. That made it a fairly easy call for his camp to pa s on the net $8MM deal with Chicago. The White Sox will need to add multiple starting pitchers this winter. may be the only pitcher certain to occupy a spot in the Opening Day five. figures to battle for a job, while has angled for a rotation opportunity. and occupied back-end roles for the stretch run. Cameron Townsend Jersey