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.
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.
This post was published on 2021-01-15 11:28