Agent B.B. Abbott tells MLB.com’s Jon Morosi that right-hander Corey Kluber has been cleared to begin a throwing program and is expected to progress to throwing off a mound early next month (Twitter link). That timeline provides a glimpse into where Kluber is at in his rehab from the Grade 2 teres major strain that limited him to just one inning with the Rangers this past season. It stands to reason that interested clubs may prefer to see how Kluber handles that next critical step before committing a guaranteed contract to him. A broken forearm and a strained oblique muscle held Kluber to 35 2/3 innings in 2019, so he’s tossed just 36 2/3 frames over the past two seasons. However, in his last full season, the 34-year-old Kluber finished third in AL Cy Young voting.
Some notes on the market for starting pitching…
- The Orioles are still in the midst of a long rebuild, but GM Mike Elias told reporters this week that he plans to look at the free-agent market for rotation options (link via Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com). “I definitely think we’re going to be signing some starting pitchers,” Elias said. “You can never have enough.” Elias downplayed the magnitude of any potential signing, cautioning that any such moves could be on major league or minor league deals. Baltimore went the latter route last winter when inking Tommy Milone and Wade LeBlanc to soak up some innings, but that duo is gone — as is righty Asher Wojciechowski. The Orioles already have some young arms knocking on the door to potential rotation spots, headlined by left-hander Keegan Akin, but there’s so much uncertainty on the staff that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see multiple arms brought into the fold. “There will be additional competition in camp,” said Elias.
- While many clubs are content to stay in-house to round out the back of their rotations, the Nationals’ history suggests that they’ll spend to add a No. 4 starter behind Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, writes Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. That fourth spot in the rotation was held down by Anibal Sanchez in 2019-20 but now looks vacant once again after Sanchez’s 2021 option was unsurprisingly declined. While the Nats might not break the bank to bring in a veteran, there’s a rather robust market for fourth and fifth starter types, including a host of high-profile names seeking bouncebacks from poor 2020 showings. Zuckerman notes that southpaw Robbie Ray, one such starter, was initially a Nationals draft pick and a prospect that GM Mike Rizzo had a difficult time trading in the Doug Fister swap with the Tigers back in 2013. As seen on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agent list, Ray is one of many options for clubs seeking rotation help.
Maybe to the Giants for a year to see if he can bounce back? Maybe?
Perfect timing for Kluber who can showcase his talents and maybe secure a guaranteed MLB deal for around $12M.
Happ and Lester to the O’s!!!
Lester or Kluber to Yankees. I was hoping for Stroman but I have a feeling they will be cheap this year after they take care of DJ.
I think Lester would get lit up in the AL East. His numbers weren’t all that good & he outperformed his peripherals.
I think he’s a really bad idea.
A JA Happ type, Bad Idea.
Kluber is super interesting though. I think there’ll be some competition for him.
The more I think about it, the more I think the Yanks will try to lower payroll this year but I think they realize getting under 210 would have a pretty negative impact on the roster.
Guess we’ll see.
The Yankees can afford almost anyone
But time will tell about who signs with the Yankees
For sure.
But – like everyone – they do have a budget. Which is not something a lot of Yankee fans want to hear lol.
I’m hoping an active & engaging Cohen will spur Hal to perhaps consider making a little less. I certainly don’t think he needs to *lose* money, or whatever though.
But I would love to see the Yanks go on a gold old fashioned free agent spending spree this winter.
Hal and every other owner lost money this past season. The average operating losses per team were most likely well over $50M per club after factoring in all expenses associated with owning and running a baseball franchise. So the real question is, how much are owners willing to risk/lose again in 2021? There’s no guarantee a full season can be played or if some (or any) fans will be allowed to attend games. The vast majority of owners are going to look to cut as much expense as they can without crippling their team. A few lucky teams like NY, Boston, LA have strong enough balance sheets to weather another financially disastrous season but they too will need to keep spending under control. If Cohen is true to his word and he’s willing to lose $100’s of millions in his first couple of years of ownership to build a winner, he is getting into this at the perfect time. He’ll have very limited competition if he’s willing to pay top dollar to free agents this off season. The Mets could easily sign JTR, Bauer, Hendricks, Rosenthal, Springer, etc.. and leave the rest of the teams (Yankees included) in the dust. As of right now, it sure looks like every club is in line to lose more money next season which is going to make the CBA talks even worse than they would have been pre-COVID.
Careful what you wish for, @lefty.
I always liked Happ, so I wouiy have no issue if the O’s signed him
As for Lester if he wants to come for 5 or 6 million line Tim D said that would be okay
the O’s could look to sign Folty or perhaps one of the posted players who recieves only light interest
Kluber, his agent, and JD have had a good rapport, so to go along with his rehab and low stock, I expect Kluber to stay in Texas next year, though probably just until the deadline. I still see a lot of potential in Kluber, and an entire year off plus a proper build up might do him very well.
Comerica Park is a nice stadium for pitchers to rebuild their value on a one year deal.
Ray to Nationals makes too much sense. Rizzo loves flame throwers and he originally drafted him. He also has a history of re-acquiring players.
Pretty sure Akin and Kremer have their rotation spots locked down.
Indians but as a closer this time
Kluber is most likely going to have to ‘settle’ for an incentive-laden deal. He might get a $4M-$5M base, but he’ll have to earn the rest by hitting certain durability milestones like innings pitched, number of starts made, etc. If he’s fully healthy and he’s able to make 28-32+ starts, he should be able to earn the $18M+ Texas declined in 2021. If he’s only willing to sign for guaranteed money, he might have to settle for a 1/$10-$12M deal. He’s definitely an intriguing option for a lot of teams this year. It will be interesting to see what types of offers he gets and what he ultimately agrees to sign for.
Washington has a massive chunk of its’ payroll already committed to Max-Stras-Corbin. And then there’s the problem of finding a Bat in FA to protect Soto in the lineup. A cheap 1 year deal for a vet makes much more sense than Ray.
I think Rizzo would be wise in dealing Scherzer! There’s no doubt he would draw a lot of interest. You can’t keep letting guys walk (Harper, Rendon) for free and still have a farm system. Rizzo would have been wise in trading both before they hit FA. The time to move Max is now!!! Trade Max and sign T. Bauer, R. Ray and build the bullpen with Hand.
Scherzer is not going to draw alot of interest. He has 1 year left on a 7 year $210 million contract, which includes a significant amount of deferred money. No one is going to be interested in taking that on. Not in this economy.