Corey Kluber

Central Notes: Brewers, Tigers, McCutchen, Kluber

By Mark Polishuk | October 3, 2017 at 7:43pm CDT

Second base is “a position we’re going to have to take a long look at,” Brewers GM David Stearns said during the team’s end-of-season meeting with reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Jonathan Villar’s struggles required the Brew Crew to trade for Neil Walker in August, and now with Walker headed for free agency and Eric Sogard (another free agent) perhaps best suited for utility duty, a decision will need to be made about giving Villar another chance or perhaps looking for another addition. Starting pitching is another need given the uncertainty surrounding Jimmy Nelson’s return from a labrum procedure, though manager Craig Counsell said it was too early to consider whether Josh Hader could be moved into a rotation role.

Here’s more from both the NL and AL Central…

The Tigers will interview Marlins third base coach Fredi Gonzalez and White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing this week about the managerial vacancy, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports. Angels bench coach Dino Ebel is also on Detroit’s list of candidates, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets. Several other internal (coaches Lloyd McClendon, Omar Vizquel, Dave Clark) and external (Phil Nevin and Charlie Montoyo) have already been linked to the Tigers’ search, which reportedly began with around 50 names in consideration.
Andrew McCutchen is the key figure of this Pirates offseason, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, as the team faces a big decision about trading the long-time star outfielder. Dealing McCutchen would essentially mark the end of an era for the franchise, though it would free up $14.5MM in payroll for 2018 (Brink rightly figures McCutchen’s club option is sure to be exercised by the Pirates) that could then be used to fill other roster holes. McCutchen turns 31 next week and is coming off a solid 2017 season that revived his value following a very disappointing 2016 campaign.
Corey Kluber was a promising but unheralded young arm in the Padres farm system when he was acquired by the Indians in July 2010, as Cleveland.com’s Bud Shaw revisits the trade that gave the Tribe its ace. Kluber was acquired as part of a three-team deal that saw the Cardinals send Ryan Ludwick to the Padres, while St. Louis picked up Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and Nick Greenwood from San Diego. Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, then the team’s GM, said they received good scouting reports and “great analytical information” on Kluber that caught their interest, but “at the same time, no one sat there and said we were trading for a future Cy Young winner. We had no idea.”

AL Notes: Kluber, Twins, A’s, Dyson, Soler/Bonifacio

By Jeff Todd | June 1, 2017 at 8:42am CDT

As expected, the Indians have activated righty Corey Kluber. He’s back on the hill today for Cleveland after missing a few weeks resting his lower back. The 31-year-old will be looking to improve upon a tepid start to the season. Over his first 37 1/3 innings, he has managed only a 5.06 ERA with 9.9 K/9 but an uncharacteristically high 3.1 BB/9. Righty Shawn Armstrong was optioned to create roster space.

Here’s the latest from the American League:

Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey discussed the club’s first overall selection in the upcoming amateur draft, as Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reports. The team is taking a closer look at “a group of five to six [players], probably,” according to the club’s top baseball decisionmaker. With several candidates slated to visit with the organization just days before the draft, there’s still time for new information to shape the picture. Falvey says the Twins intend to “ask some difficult questions” of the candidates when they sit down with them, in addition to taking another look at their skills. As Miller well explains, the club’s management of its overall bonus pool will also factor in. Falvey acknowledged the possibility of reallocating some of the top slot’s cash to sign other players — though he also said he’s “not yet ready to say it’s something we’d do in the first round” — and acknowledged the need “to add as many upside assets” as possible.
With the Athletics still lagging in the standings, eyes are beginning to turn to their deadline plans. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, the organization will likely increasingly turn to more youthful options as it deals away veteran assets. In particular, she says, second baseman Jed Lowrie “almost certainly will be dealt” — helping clear the way for top prospect Franklin Barreto. The A’s will surely also entertain a move involving surprising slugger Yonder Alonso, and Slusser notes that the club could also part with a few lesser-performing veterans as well.
The struggles have continued for former Rangers closer Sam Dyson. As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes, Dyson surrendered two home runs as the club went down in extra innings. While he is still generating grounders at a healthy clip, everything else has gone wrong for Dyson, who now owns a 10.80 ERA with a dozen walks and just seven strikeouts through 16 2/3 innings. It’s not clear what the organization will do with the out-of-options righty, but manager Jeff Banister did not exactly deliver a strong vote of confidence after the game. “It’s an extreme challenge right now,” Banister said. “He’s on our staff. He’s one of our pitchers right now, and we have to find a way to continue to work.”
The Royals had hoped that Jorge Soler would blossom upon arriving over the winter, but another young outfielder by the same first name is currently keeping him out of the lineup, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports. Jorge Bonifacio, who’ll turn 24 in a few days, is off to a .273/.325/.500 batting line with seven home runs in 120 plate appearances. That may not be quite sustainable, of course, but for now he’s producing and the Royals are giving him a chance to show it’s real. That’s not to say that K.C. is giving up on Soler, who has only seen 18 games of action due to injury and the limited opportunities he has found upon his return.

Quick Hits: Arrieta, Cespedes, Twins, Draft, Tribe, Astros

By Connor Byrne | May 27, 2017 at 10:02pm CDT

As he’s wont to do, agent Scott Boras lobbied on behalf of one of his clients Saturday, the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta, brushing off concerns about the right-hander’s early season velocity drop. As Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com notes, the 31-year-old Arrieta has lost 2.5 mph on his fastball since 2015 – his NL Cy Young-winning campaign (he averaged 94.6 mph then) – but Boras doesn’t see it as a big deal. “The question becomes what’s (Clayton) Kershaw averaging? He’s throwing 92.5 mph,” said Boras. “(Zack) Greinke is throwing 91.8 mph. (Max) Scherzer, when he was a free agent, was throwing 92 mph.” Perhaps thanks to his decline in velocity, Arrieta has struggled to prevent runs in his contract year (4.92 ERA in 56 2/3 innings), but Boras still regards him as an “elite pitcher” who has proven it time and again in the regular season and playoffs.

Injury Notes: Price, Haniger, Kluber, Doolittle, Axford, Ramos, Jones, Ceciliani

By Jeff Todd | May 20, 2017 at 12:14am CDT

Here’s the latest on some injury situations from around the game:

Red Sox lefty David Price only made it through two innings in his rehab outing tonight, as David Ricci of the Boston Globe reports. On the positive side, Price says that he felt that he was in good physical form during and after the outing. Still, it’s unclear what the next step will be for the valuable southpaw, who has yet to pitch this year in the majors while working through an elbow injury. Manager John Farrell said he’ll speak with Price before a course is determined, as the Globe’s Pete Abraham tweets.
Meanwhile, the Mariners decided to hold off on starting the rehab assignment of outfielder Mitch Haniger after he felt some mild soreness in his oblique, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. At this point, the hope is that it won’t cause a significant delay. Haniger, 26, is no doubt chomping at the bit to get back to the big leagues after his outstanding start to the year. Over 95 plate appearances, he carries a .342/.447/.608 batting line with four home runs.
The Indians will send righty Corey Kluber out for a 35-pitch sim game tomorrow, per Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter). Cleveland’s staff ace will test out his balky lower back and hopefully begin moving back toward the majors. Kluber currently owns an uncharacteristic 5.06 ERA through six outings, though he still carries 9.9 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.
Athletics reliever Sean Doolittle is set to begin throwing from flat ground over the weekend, Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California was among those to tweet. He could be back on the bump by the middle of next week — though obviously it will still be a while longer before he’s back in the majors. The southpaw has dealt with a shoulder issue that is of added concern given his history, though the hope remains that he has avoided a significant injury this time around. Meanwhile, righty John Axford is set to return from his own shoulder-related DL stint in the next two days, Stiglich also adds on Twitter.
Backstop Wilson Ramos is making real progress in his recovery from ACL surgery, Rays manager Kevin Cash said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (via Jim Bowden, on Twitter). He is already able to get in a crouch in bullpen sessions and has been taking batting practice, which certainly seems to suggest it may not be long until he begins a rehab assignment.
The White Sox are encouraged by the early pen sessions turned in by currently DL’ed setup man Nate Jones, as Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com writes. He might only need one or two more controlled sessions before facing hitters in some fashion — either in a sim game or at the start of a rehab assignment. Jones is dealing with a case of elbow neuritis, but could turn into a significant trade piece this summer if he’s able to pick up where he left off upon his return.
Blue Jays outfielder Darrell Ceciliani will miss about two or three weeks with a shoulder strain, manager John Gibbons told reporters including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter link). Ceciliani was injured in unusual fashion, as he tweaked his shoulder while driving a ball out of the park. The 26-year-old had only just returned to the majors before going down, receiving the call despite a rough start to his season at Triple-A.

Injury Notes: Giants, Red Sox, Indians, Jays, Jankowski

By Steve Adams | May 15, 2017 at 8:21pm CDT

The Giants announced tonight that right fielder Hunter Pence has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a left hamstring strain. Fellow outfielder Mac Williamson is up from Triple-A Sacramento to take Pence’s spot on the roster. The loss of Pence is the latest blow to a Giants roster that has seen a number of key players go down with injuries this year, though Pence’s performance hasn’t been anywhere near what one would expect from the typically productive slugger. The 34-year-old has been at least 18 percent better than the league-average hitter in each of the past four seasons, per park-adjusted metrics OPS+ and wRC+, and he’s batted a combined .281/.339/.463 in that time. However, this year, he’s mustered just a .243/.289/.338 batting line through his first 149 plate appearances.

A few more notable injury scenarios from around the league…

Giants closer Mark Melancon is on the mend and appears to be progressing well, as the right-hander told reporters that he threw a 22-pitch mound session today (Twitter links via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle and Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Melancon said that he was “pretty much full go,” and Pavlovic notes that he can be activated as soon as tomorrow. Derek Law has been filling in as San Francisco’s closer with Melancon on the shelf.
An MRI of Drew Pomeranz’s left triceps didn’t reveal any new injuries, and the Red Sox lefty has been cleared to resume baseball activities, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. News on Tyler Thornburg, though, isn’t as good. The Sox are still trying to get to the bottom of the shoulder woes Thornburg is experiencing, as Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com tweets. Thornburg is set for additional testing and medical consultations this week. He has yet to take the hill since arriving in Boston via trade over the winter.
The Indians will be without Brandon Guyer for the next four to six weeks due to a sprained left wrist, manager Terry Francona told reporters today (via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian). Guyer will be completely shut down for a week before he begins the next phase of his rehab. Bastian also notes that ace Corey Kluber tossed a 20-pitch session today but still needs a more aggressive mound session and a simulated game before he’s cleared to begin a rehab assignment. And if those injuries aren’t enough for Cleveland, the Indians’ No. 2 starter, Carlos Carrasco, exited tonight’s game with tightness in his left pectoral muscle (Twitter link via Bastian). There’s no word on the severity of that issue, though it seems reasonable to expect further word following the completion of tonight’s game.
Steve Pearce became the latest member of the Blue Jays to land on the disabled list, as the infielder/outfielder suffered a calf injury last night and was placed on the 10-day DL today following an MRI. The Jays announced the injury as a right calf strain and did not offer a timeline on Pearce’s absence. Right-hander Leonel Campos is up from Triple-A to give the relief corps a quick boost, though as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets, that gives the Jays a two-man bench and a nine-man bullpen. As such, it seems likely that a reliever will be sent down soon. On a more positive note for Toronto fans, the team also announced that Troy Tulowitzki began a rehab assignment today, suggesting that he’s quite near to a return.
Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski has been on the DL since late April, and MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell now tweets that it’ll be at least another six weeks before the defensive standout is ready to return to the team. Jankowski hit the DL with what was termed a “deep bone bruise,” though reports at the time suggested that doctors believed there could be a hairline fracture in his foot. Per Cassavell, Jankowski’s most recent tests did indeed reveal a fracture, which lengthens the amount of time that he’ll be away from the club.

Injury Notes: Hill, Ethier, AGon, Bailey, Melancon, Mariners, Kluber, Gray

By Jeff Todd | May 12, 2017 at 9:38pm CDT

Here’s the latest on some notable health situations from around the game:

The Dodgers have updates on a number of players. Lefty Rich Hill is going to return as a starter, but if his blister issue recurs then the team will consider moving him into some kind of relief role, manager Dave Roberts tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). The timeline remains a ways off for outfielder Andre Ethier, meanwhile. He’s still not able to run without feeling pain in his back, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports, making it seem unlikely he’d be able to return early July. Finally, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week, Alanna Rizzo of Sportsnet LA tweets. He may only require two or three games before returning.
On the other side of the city, the Angels are sending righty Andrew Bailey for a visit with Dr. David Altchek, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The reliever “felt something” in his shoulder during a recent throwing session. Shoulder issues have kept him on the DL all year.
Further north, the Giants have cause for hope that closer Mark Melancon will require only the brief DL timeline the club had charted when he was taken off the active roster. As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter, Melancon is reporting reduced symptoms in his forearm. The righty will test things out by playing catch tomorrow.
Continuing up the coast, the Mariners also have a smattering of health updates of note, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. Key young talents James Paxton and Mitch Haniger are moving in the right direction, with the hope still being that they’ll return before the month is out. Reliever Steve Cishek is also close. But Felix Hernandez is going to rest his ailing shoulder a bit more, leaving his timeline somewhat cloudy, and it’s still not clear what to expect from Hisashi Iwakuma.
Indians righty Corey Kluber is moving slowly in his rehab, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Out with lower back issues, Kluber has begun throwing from flat ground but still hasn’t taken the hill. Manager Terry Francona did say that the team is seeing progress, though perhaps the biggest test is yet to come.
Rockies staff ace Jon Gray is also taking longer than had been hoped, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post writes. Gray is still in a walking boot while his broken left foot heals, though the hope seems to be he’ll be ready to shed that soon. While Gray has been able to continue throwing, he’ll obviously need to boost his conditioning and ensure his foot is at full health before undertaking at least some kind of rehab assignment.

Indians Place Corey Kluber On 10-Day DL

By Jeff Todd | May 3, 2017 at 2:35pm CDT

The Indians have placed righty Corey Kluber on the 10-day DL with lower back discomfort, per a team announcement. He’ll be replaced for the time being by righty Joe Colon.

Kluber has reportedly been dealing with the back issue throughout the early portion of the season, so it seems the hope is that some rest will help him move past it. He has struggled somewhat thus far, perhaps due in part to the nagging discomfort.

Though Kluber is still carrying a strong 9.9 K/9 on the year, he has allowed more walks (3.1 BB/9) than usual and has coughed up seven long balls through 37 1/3 innings. His velocity has dropped a bit, with his four-seamer sitting at 91.5 mph and his sinker averaging 92.1 mph.

Pitching Injury Notes: Shields, Rodon, Hamels, Volquez, Kluber, Nats

By Jeff Todd | May 2, 2017 at 11:21pm CDT

The White Sox will put righty James Shields on ice for a bit after he experienced soreness while throwing, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes. Shields is on the 10-day DL with a lat strain that hasn’t improved as rapidly as had been hoped. While it would obviously be preferable to have the veteran in the rotation, it seems a slow and steady course will now be required.

Here’s more on some pitching health issues from around the game:

It has been a long wait for the White Sox as young lefty Carlos Rodon, who hasn’t yet pitched in 2017 due to a biceps injury. Skipper Rick Renteria was somewhat coy when asked about the southpaw, as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports on Twitter. While Renteria emphasized that the club was “very happy” with Rodon’s progress, he declined to say whether the 24-year-old has been cleared to work off of a mound.
Southpaw Cole Hamels was scratched from his outing for the Rangers today, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweeted. Oblique tightness was given as the reason, though the severity isn’t yet clear. Texas can scarcely afford anything less than a healthy and effective Hamels as the team seeks to dig itself out of the AL West basement. The veteran has managed just 4.1 K/9 on the year, less than half his career average, with a 7.5% swinging-strike rate that’s well off his typical pace (12.3% lifetime). That said, he still carries a 3.03 ERA through 32 2/3 innings.
Also leaving with an injury today was Marlins righty Edinson Volquez. As MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes, Volquez had an incredibly unusual stat line, compiling an unprecedented combination of eight walks and nine strikeouts through 4 1/3 innings before departing with a thumb blister. After the game, manager Don Mattingly said that Volquez could miss his next scheduled outing, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets.
Corey Kluber of the Indians failed to make it through his start, too, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports on Twitter. The righty was dealing with lower back issues that have been a nagging problem of late. He had struggled through three innings before being pulled. Kluber is off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the year, with a 5.06 ERA through 37 1/3 innings.
The Nationals have thrived despite subpar work from their bullpen, but the team would no doubt prefer to see some improvement. It would surely help to get Koda Glover and Sammy Solis back from the DL, though as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (Twitter links), the outlook seems better for the former than the latter. Glover, who’s out with a hip issue, says he expects to return after the minimum ten days on the DL. But Solis has yet to begin playing catch. While there’s still no reason to fear a significant injury, elbow nerve inflammation has yet to subside.

AL Central Notes: Ziomek, White Sox, Gore, Twins, Kluber

By Steve Adams | April 4, 2017 at 10:48pm CDT

Tigers prospect Kevin Ziomek has retired from baseball, as was first reported by MLB Pipeline (Twitter link). Rated as one of the better arms in the Tigers’ system — ESPN’s Keith Law had him 17th this offseason, and he’s rated as highly as No. 4 on the Tigers’ top 30 prospect list at Baseball America in recent years — Ziomek missed the majority of the 2016 season due to thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. I’m told that the left-hander’s velocity simply never returned following the operation. Ziomek posted a 3.07 ERA with 299 strikeouts against 93 walks across 290 innings during his pro career. Best of luck to him moving forward.

More from the American League Central…

Despite dealing star veterans over the winter, the White Sox players are expressing confidence in their ability to compete in 2017, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes. The organization views that as a positive byproduct of the team’s hiring of manager Rick Renteria, but GM Rick Hahn said he’s planning to stay the course. “Our goal is to remain focused on the long term and building something sustainable,” says Hahn. While he notes that the front office won’t “proactively hinder their ability to contend if we feel it’s real and sustainable,” he notes that mid-season assessments will be made “objectively” and with a clear focus on “what’s best for the franchise in the long term.”
The Royals’ decision to carry Terrance Gore on the 25-man roster out of Spring Training surprised some, but Kansas City manager Ned Yost lauded the game-changing weapon that is Gore’s speed when speaking to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. As Flanagan points out, the injury to Jorge Soler makes it easier to keep Gore on the roster for now, but he also notes that Yost was hoping to keep Gore even if Soler hadn’t been hurt. “He can win games with that speed,” Yost tells Flanagan. “It’s a huge weapon to have late in a game. I’m not saying we can keep that weapon all season, especially when we go to 13 pitchers. But for now, it made sense.” Flanagan also adds that improvements in Gore’s route-running capabilities could lead to him entering games as a defensive replacement while he’s on the roster.
Chad Graff of the St. Paul Pioneer Press spoke to Twins GM Thad Levine about the lack of roster turnover this offseason despite a 103-loss campaign in 2016 that led to Minnesota landing the first overall pick in the 2017 draft. Levine expresses optimism regarding the improving young talent that permeates the Twins’ roster and suggests that both he and first-year chief baseball office Derek Falvey view the 2016 season as an anomaly. Levine was heartened, he says, by the number of rival executives that spent the offseason trying to pry several of the Twins’ young players away in trades. “That speaks to the fact that they didn’t see it as a 103-loss team,” says Levine. “They saw it as more talented than that.” Catcher Jason Castro, who is new to the Twins in 2017 but no stranger to rebuilding/100-loss teams, opines to Graff that the 2017 Twins are “light years ahead of where they were in that rebuild process in Houston” when the Astros began their aggressive rebuild several years ago.
Indians ace Corey Kluber had a callus on his pitching hand break open during his start during Monday’s season opener, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, but manager Terry Francona and pitching coach Mickey Callaway say that the 2014 AL Cy Young winner will be ready to take his next turn in the rotation on Sunday. Kluber was tagged for five runs in six inning on Monday, though the blister/callus issue likely contributed to that problematic outing to some extent.

Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello Win Cy Young Awards

By Jeff Todd | November 16, 2016 at 6:31pm CDT

Max Scherzer of the Nationals and Rick Porcello of the Red Sox have won the Cy Young Awards in their respective leagues, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced tonight.

That’s the second time the 32-year-old has taken home the hardware, though his prior award came in the American League (in 2013, with the Tigers). Scherzer led the N.L. with 228 1/3 innings, twenty wins, and a 0.968 WHIP. He ended the year with 2.96 ERA with 11.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.

That showing was good enough to beat out Cubs hurlers Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks — who finished second and third, respectively. Scherzer ended up with 25 of the 30 first-place votes, reflecting a strong consensus, but in truth it was a widespread field full of worthwhile contenders. That includes the absurdly dominant Clayton Kershaw, who probably would have run away with the award had he not missed a dozen starts due to injury, and the dearly departed Jose Fernandez, who garnered down-ballot consideration after a dominant season that ended in tragedy.

Porcello’s win came over fellow finalists Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Corey Kluber of the Indians. All were worthy contenders in a year in which nobody put up a truly dominant year. The best A.L. pitchers on a rate basis was reliever Zach Britton, who managed a fourth-place finish despite the innings limitations inherent to his job.

The vote came with its share of controversy. Verlander received 14 of the 30 available first-place votes, but narrowly missed the award when he was left off of two ballots altogether. The 33-year-old threw 227 2/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball, with 10.0 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9, whereas Porcello racked up 223 frames of 3.15 ERA pitching on the back of 7.6 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9. The difference, perhaps, was that the ultimate victor managed a sparkling 22-4 win-loss record, whereas Verlander carried a less notable 16-and-9 mark.

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