Texas Ranger legend and Cleveland Baseball Team ace, Corey Kluber, has announced that he will throw a 30-pitch bullpen session in front of interested teams on Jan. 13. One of those interested suitors happens to be the New York Mets, according to MLB.com Mets beat reporter Anthony DiComo.
Kluber, now 35 years old, was an absolute star from 2014 to 2018, winning two American League Cy Young awards (2014 and 2017), and slotting an 83-45 record on a 2.85 ERA over that span. He also pitched 17 complete games and averaged just over 10 strikeouts per nine innings.
To say these stats are the stuff of an all-star pitcher is an understatement, but Kluber has fallen off since. In 2019, a string of injuries, starting with a broken bone in his wrist and ending with a strained oblique, kept him out for essentially the entire season.
Cleveland, who have traded away a lot of their pitching talent over the last couple years, didn’t make an exception for their two-time Cy Young award winner, moving him to the Texas Rangers in December of 2019 in exchange for two players.
Kluber, wearing a new uniform for the first time in his Major League career, did not last long in blue, as he threw 18 pitches in his Rangers debut before straining his teres major muscle, ending his 2020 campaign.
All-in-all, the guy has thrown just 36.2 innings in two seasons. His ERA over that time has been 5.65.
Kluber’s bullpen session will occur at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Kluber has spent much of his offseason training there.
The Mets have also shown interest in right-hander James Paxton, and attended his workout last month. Paxton also happens to be a high-upside starter who has had injury trouble over the last couple of seasons. Both Paxton and Kluber would most likely be available to sign on cheap deals, as they both have something to prove entering the 2021 season.
As it currently stands, the Mets rotation will be some combination of Jacob DeGrom, Marcus Stroman, and David Peterson, with Noah Syndergaard sliding in later on as he recovers from Tommy John Surgery. Aside from those four, the rest of the rotation is still a question mark, as Seth Lugo’s role is undefined and Steven Matz’ questionable performance in 2020 makes him an unreliable choice.
