1:02 pm: Kluber’s first workout is expected to take place in January, hears Rob Bradford of WEEI.
9:14 am: Free agent right-hander Corey Kluber is preparing to throw bullpen sessions for interested teams later this month, reports Buster Olney of ESPN. The 34-year-old began a throwing program in early November on the heels of a second consecutive season marred by injury.
Kluber was limited to just one inning with the Rangers in 2020 after suffering a Grade 2 teres major strain in his throwing shoulder during his first outing. That came after he logged just 35.2 innings in 2019 due to a comebacker that fractured his forearm, ending his season in May. Thanks to Kluber’s recent run of poor health, Texas made the decision to decline his $18MM club option in favor of a $1MM buyout.
So far this offseason, Kluber has drawn some attention from the Red Sox and Twins. It’s fair to presume other clubs will be interested in checking in on his status. Kluber was dominant in 2018, his last full season of work. Given his age, it’d be hard to bank on him again posting Cy Young-caliber production coming off two largely lost years. Nevertheless, plenty of teams could have interest in taking a shot on Kluber as an upside play if he demonstrates much or all of his prior form in the upcoming showcases.
I’d like to see Kluber back in Texas, but given his age and the current state of the team, it’s not likely.
I would love it too… give him a base salary of 7.5 mil and put in innings/injury incentives to make it 10 mil.
Go away that’s a bad contract
Cleveland is where he belongs
Cleveland should bring him back since they’re going to dump Lindor for nothing. Kluber won two cy youngs and carried Cleveland through that World Series run in 2016. He’s a club legend who should retire with the tribe
Boston is waiting for hoe arrival
Keep ur pants on
I think he fits the rangers, he just has to sign for the right money. Idk what that is, but say a 1 year deal worth anywhere from $5-10 is worth it to me.
Are the Blue Jays intrested?
I think every team in the league is interested. He has a great track record when it comes to pitching just been hit by the injury bug. no surgeries to his shoulder or elbow ligaments though so I think most teams will be more inclined to sign him to a 1 year show me contract.
It’s a joke bud
Kluber will be the one player we don’t get a Blue Jays rumor about.
If Billy was still with the Angels, Kluber would have been an Angels yesterday.
Give yourself a thumbs-up you’re pining for. Nobody else will.
What a bitter loser.
Billy declined the trade with Cleveland last year don’t you keep up with baseball news
Troll
After what went down in 2020 you’d be correct. Would he get Cahill money or Harvey money is the question.
$7.5m base? Can’t pay for past performances any more. Is the expectation for him to throw 100 innings after missing the last 2 years? Factor in his age and he may have a great year but hard to give him $3m.
in a market where #5s are getting 13 mil… Kluber can easily end up with 7.5 with incentives up to 10
my bad… Smyly got 11 mil. still he could barely be considered a #5
he’s probably Atlanta’s 3 if Soroka isnt healthy by opening day.
Why are you so miserable my guy
Smyly? If Soroaka isn’t healthy, he’d be their #4. Defintiley behind Fried, Morton and Anderson.
You should look at Atlanta’s rotation and really think about whether Smyly is the Braves no.3
i think Anderson is a better bet to pitch better, but i think Smyly has the seniority here to be the #3 over him
His production makes it obvious Smyly is a lightning in a bottle move. His production last year could just be a small sample size and hasn’t pitched that well since 2015. He is the no.5 and possibly even spends some time in the bullpen as well. Seniority doesn’t mean that much or do you think Velazquez should be ahead of Aaron Nola?
If he will take 3 million on a 1 yr deal the Red Sox may be able to afford him.
Masslive:
“Boston Red Sox 2021 payroll update: Chaim Bloom must add pitching, outfielder; payroll about $43.5M below CBT after arbitration agreements
Updated 7:00 AM; Today 7:00 AM”
In fairness, if you’re paying for past performance, he’d cost you over $35M for a season. A cost of a win in somewhere in the 8-9 range. A $7,5M is reasonable.
Relievers got 10M on a show me contract last year. Why would a former 2 time Cy young winner with no arm surgeries not get even 75% of that?
Look at the market. A mediocre smyly got 11M. Someone will pay Kluber at least 15M next year if he’s healthy, and I could see the base alone being closing to 10M+
It better not be the Red Sox lying him 10 mil
The fact he resides in Massachusetts and the Red Sox are in need of pitching, it could be a perfect match
He will b too expensive for the “new look” Red Sox
I don’t know why some people think the Red Sox are suddenly cheap. Taking one year to get below the CBT threshold doesn’t mean it’s a permanent thing. And they still have a pretty big cushion before they get there. I think it’s just a matter of wanting to be prudent with how they spend so that they don’t get an albatross long-term contract. That shouldn’t be an issue with Kluber.
The Red Sox have already been the most extravagant team in MLB this off-season. They signed Yairo Munoz and Chris Mazza to guaranteed contracts at above MLB minimum, a collective extra $400 or $500K more than they would have earned otherwise, for the sole purpose of inoculating them from a waiver claim so that they could send them to Wocester unclaimed, and hence open up two more spots for free agents without losing any AAA depth. (Munoz is already off the roster.)
This is not a surprise. Of the 4 teams with the deepest pockets, they’re the only one who reset their tax limit last year and will pay the least premium if they go over this year. They lucked out a bit in that ths happens to be the perfect year to sign guys to 1- and 2-year deals, and at a discount to boot,
Interesting. Just read about that.
yahoo.com/lifestyle/exactly-did-corey-kluber-end-1…
Kind of strange he would let his wife choose where they live when he’s making the money, but it could be a small advantage for the Red Sox if they’re interested.
Superstar.. Didn’t Wheeler do the same?
Not really that weird. She has to live there while he’s on the road.
@Superstar. Probably because Kluber thinks of his wife as his partner and not the second place home maker. Do women everywhere a favor and never get married.
Registered just to say that this is the worst non-baseball take I’ve ever seen on this site. It’s 2020 haha!
The Orioles should kick the tires, but they won’t
Correct
They should, even if to take a shot at flipping him at the trade deadline for prospect(s),
The issue is Kluber won’t sign with the Orioles if there are other more attractive bidders. They play in a good hitter’s park in a hitter’s division and they won’t be able to help him with a good team behind him. He’ll place himself in the best position to win.
Well like any star athlete, they should want to compete against the best and the AL East is still one of the best divisions in the league
Quite frankly if the O’s improve their defense by signing JBJ and possibly signing Russell for SS and Kim for third base
Imagine a healthy kluber as a mercenary basically? That’s grabbing a haul in July
if he had stayed healthy and pitched in 2019-2022 the way he pitched the previous 5 seasons….he would be hall of fame bound, first ballot
That would put him at roughly 170 wins, 2300ks, 54 career WAR if everything went perfect for those 4 seasons. Not to mention he also has about 45 decent, not dominant, postseason innings. That does not make him a first ballot HOF and probably not a HOF at all
If you’re using postseason innings to determine whether someone should be in the HOF, there’s a reason you’re not allowed to make that decision
If you think postseason success doesn’t influence the HOF election, you should probably stop commenting about the hall of fame
Well hope he succeeds. He should go to angels for 2nd pitcher if Bauer goes to LA
I’d like to see the xos der rebulk their pitching staff.
DeChambeau might have some advice on the rebulking plan
White Sox need to sign him. NOW.
why, do they have a game today? lol….just kidding…
I agree, his upside makes him a lot more appealing for the White Sox than Quintana. I have a feeling Kluber is going to be one of the best bargains of the offseason, for whatever team takes a chance on him. The guy is a beast when healthy.
Phillies should take a look. Low risk, high reward.
agreed, though id be more interested in a guy with better injury history.
Like some real cool injuries? He got injured straining his shoulder while saving a baby from a burning building! Then he kissed the hot single mother and went on about his way. I think that would be a better injury history.
A better injury history would be fewer and/or less severe injuries.
With 2021’s salary uncertain (pandemic) and 2022’s uncertain (labor stoppage), I would think you can sign a Kluber (and others) with low salary money and high bonus (guaranteed) money. A 5M contract isn’t worth half as much as a 2M contract with a 2M Bonus. Well-healed teams (who maintained at least SOME cash flow through 2020) should take advantage.
He’s got that Stetson connection with deGrom and the Mets could use a starter or two.
Or three, considering Matz is their #3 until Thor returns.
If you are going to take a shot at the team might as well know their roster before commenting. Peterson is their 3rd starter after deGrom and Stroman.
Give yourself a thumbs-up you’re pining for. Nobody else will.
He’s going to be a Red Sox, Met or Yankee with the Angels being a dark horse.
I’d like to see the Angels sign Kluber or Richards or both. Bauer? Would Arte go over the payroll limit to acquire him? Please Arte, it’s just one year.
There’s no room to even sign the 1st 2 guys.
A trade may be the only way to get two starters.
I think the angels go after the big horse in Bauer to pair with Bundy & Heaney. Then possibly fill in with Kluber , Richards & Odorizzi. Also they have Canning as a 4 or 5 starter
“Go after” and “actually sign” are not the same. They went after McCann…
I wouldn’t hold your breath if you think the Angels sign Bauer AND a Kluber/Richards/Odorizzi.
You don’t think he’d take the best offer he gets?
I think the Padres should get him on a 1yr deal. Gives them depth in the rotation with Clevinger and Lamet out with injuries and gives both Gore and Patiño another year of development.
I can see the Giants getting involved with this showcase. One of a few good pitching ballparks out there that could help this dude regain some confidence
Braves?
Less likely than other locations. The Braves already landed 2 starters. Doesn’t mean they wouldn’t do it. Picking up an additional insurance starter may still be on their to-do list but they have much less motivation than other teams. I imagine they won’t feel inclined to outbid other teams who may want him more.
I couldn’t see that now. I wouldn’t doubt seeing a cheaper option as a fallback, especially if Soroka doesn’t look ready for the first of the season (which wouldn’t be surprising), not unlike King Felix last year. There’ll be enough options to to go that route and preserve dollars where needed (midorder bat/COF, bench, closer? etc.)
One of the better chances at a high return for a reasonable cost. Also a chance he’s a complete bust. He’ll have quite a few interested teams, which may push his price a little higher than expected.
Registered just to say that this is the worst non-baseball take I’ve ever seen on this site. It’s 2020 haha!
You can proceed to close the account and unregister. Thank you.
I want to see how Kluber looks before I would want to put any eggs in the basket. I would like to think Stearns did his due dilligence on Kluber. Milwaukee would love him if he was even close to what he once was.
I think the Rangers would be fair to give him a 5 million contract with incentives easily reach 7.5 million and additional 2.5 million to reach a harder incentive package. If either incentive is reached then give an option to do it again for another two years
You would think a contending team would take a shot at him for their 4th or 5th spot, if the money is right.
What ever happened with Veteran pitchers coming back as Closers or Relievers to get back to full strength with their pitching ? Just a question for anyone reading my question.
They realize you make more money as a starter bounce back than a reliever bounce back?
Main way that happens nowadays is somebody comes back from an injury midseason, already signed, and they only have a month or two to build up so they go to the pen. IE post TJS
Cubs needs to at least inquire on him. Low Risk High reward. They just saved about 11mul on Schwarber and Almora Jr being non tendered. I dont think Kluber gets more than that on a 1 year deal.
I like him at 5 to 7 million. Can see him getting into the double digits territory though which would turn me off. With 10 million to spend I would rather chance hitting gold on 3 3 million guys.
Kluber to Boston on a one year deal with a vesting option for year 2. Year 1: $4M base with $6M in incentives. Year 2: $8M base with $4M in incentives. I’m sure his wife would love him to be able to stay home for 1/2 the season, as would he.
The guy can pitch. Someone will get a bargain.