On Wednesday, free agent Corey Kluber held a workout in Florida, where he threw 30 pitched, including his entire arsenal. Scouts of 25 teams, including the New York Yankees, were clearly impressed, as the right-hander, who was limited to only one inning in 2020 due to a Grade 2 teres major muscle strain in his throwing shoulder, is headed towards a lucrative deal after months of uncertainty.
Kluber wouldn’t come without risks. He is 34, and in addition to last year’s injury issues, he pitched just 35 2/3 innings in 2019 due to a fractured arm and oblique issue. However, the upside is obvious: for his career, he has a 3.16 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.
The New York Yankees, after securing infielder DJ LeMahieu, are reportedly pushing hard to secure Corey Kluber’s services, despite stiff competition of lots of pitching-starved teams with money.
Brendan Kuty reported on Friday morning that the talk between Kluber and the Yankees has been a one-year deal. “I’m told all he wants is a 1-year deal. He wants to go out and prove himself,” an unnamed source told NJ Advance Media.
The Yankees are pushing hard for the righty
Bob Klapisch of the Newark Star-Ledger reported that the Yankees are “definitely in” on Corey Kluber and confirmed that he only wants a one-year, “prove-it” deal, hoping to have a great season and landing a multi-year pact in the 2021-2022 offseason.
Previous reports had Kluber going for somewhere between $6 million and $8 million, but given the league-wide interest in him, don’t be surprised if the final number is close to $10 million.
According to Jim Bowden, a deal is expected to be finalized within the next 24 to 48 hours. That means we will likely know if Kluber commits his short-term future to the Yankees before the weekend ends. Several teams are very interested in having him, so it won’t be easy.