More than a decade after he was traded for Jake Peavy, Clayton Richard is a South Sider again.
The White Sox inked Richard, the 36-year-old left-handed pitcher and 11-year major league veteran, to a minor league deal Monday, assigning him to the team's alternate training site in Schaumburg.
Richard was an eighth-round draft pick of the White Sox all the way back in 2005, and he pitched in 39 games for them in 2008 and 2009. Along with Aaron Poreda and Adam Russell, he was dealt to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Peavy at the trade deadline in 2009.
Click to download the MyTeams App for the latest White Sox news and analysis.
All told, he's pitched for four different teams in his big league career, with a pair of multi-year stints in San Diego sandwiched around two years with the Cubs in 2015 and 2016. He was released from the eventual world champions in August 2016. Richard pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays last season, making 10 starts and posting a 5.96 ERA.
Richard's addition comes as the White Sox much discussed starting-pitching depth is already being tested just nine games into the 60-game 2020 season. Reynaldo López was placed on the injured list with shoulder soreness after getting just two outs in his first outing of the campaign. Gio González was plugged into the vacated spot in the rotation, but he made it through just 3.2 innings in his first start for the White Sox on Saturday. Jimmy Lambert, who started in the minor leagues before making the Opening Day roster as a part of the bullpen, was put on the injured list with a forearm strain and transferred to the 45-day injured list Monday.
Past the current five in the rotation — Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease, Carlos Rodón and González — the White Sox starting depth has been slimmed down to Ross Detwiler, who's had a very nice start to his season out of the bullpen, and Dane Dunning, a highly regarded pitching prospect training in Schaumburg.
MLB
Richard adds to that list. And with pitcher injuries piling up across the league in the wake of a brief ramp-up period before Opening Day, more pitching depth is proving to be a good investment for every club. The White Sox, north of .500 after a weekend sweep in Kansas City, are no exception.