This season has already tested the Indians’ vaunted pitching depth, and the latest development regarding venerable righty Corey Kluber will do so further. He’s now slated for at least a two-week shutdown after leaving his most recent rehab start with an abdominal issue, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports.
It had seemed that Kluber was finally nearing a return after a lengthy layoff owing to a forearm fracture. He’s closing in on three months away from the MLB roster. While it’s good that he hasn’t suffered another elbow ailment, the new malady is worrisome in its own right.
The trouble now is with the calendar. Kluber will need to ramp back up a bit once his rest period is over, all while the team keeps a close eye on his arm health and tries to ensure he does not make things worse in his core. While there’s an obvious desire to take things slowly, the opportunities for minor-league rehab work will expire in early September — though there could be some innings to work with if the division-leading Columbus Clippers can mount a Triple-A postseason run. Beyond that practical concern, there’s simply not much time remaining to build up a pitch count before the season ends.
It’ll be interesting to see how things progress. The Indians will be able to work with an expanded roster once Kluber is ready for action. But they’ll also need to feel good about inserting him into a postseason race in order to get him much-needed work.
The entire situation is loaded with risk and upside for the Cleveland organization. At his best, Kluber is one of the game’s preeminent starters. Even if he’s not capable of working as a full starter in the postseason, he might be a key piece of the roster. It’s stunning just how effective the Indians rotation has been despite the huge in-season changes it has undergone, but it’s not as laden with aces as was expected entering the year. In the background is Kluber’s contract, which includes a pair of options — $13.5MM and $14MM, each with $1MM buyouts — that could be a major organizational asset if he’s able to regain his form.
Cleveland blew a 3-1 lead.
Minnesota just blew 3 loads.
Little boy blue…he needed the money
And Chicago blew a game and series then blamed it on a fan chasing a foul ball like any other fan.
Ouch!
You need to do some easy research before you hit the keyboard. Kluber’s options are $17.5 mil &
$18 mil for the next 2 years. Big difference from what you wrote, and I can’t see Cleveland bringing him back for that kind of money.
There are just a handful of true ace pitchers in the world. Kluber is among them. Cleveland won’t be able to exercise those options fast enough.
They will option him for next year and see how it pans out before giving him 18 mil.
I can’t believe anyone still believes Kluber is worthy of the “Ace” tag. His velocity was down at the end of last year. He massively blows in the playoffs. The beginning of this year was atrocious. They should have traded him away when they had the chance. He was great once. He’s average now. Paying him $17-$18 million a year would be a terrible move
He carried them to the world series before the incredible workload caught up with him. To think what could have been had Bauer not mutilated his hand.
Kluber is not “closing in on three months away from the MLB roster. ” His broken arm was suffered on May 1st. That is more than three months ago, closing in on four months.
Keyboard warriors out in full force tonight.
Well, you know that an esteemed site like this one strives for akkurassy above everything else!
Come again?
Some people have nothing better to do than find fault in someone’s work. It’s sad.
That’s what leads to better presentation of the facts, at least some of the time, if not done in a mean-spirited way. At other times, it can enable us to laugh at ourselves, like the joke about akkurassy (an intentional incorrect spelling of accuracy).
Fo shizzle…