Corey Kluber adds Depth, Experience to Yankees’ Unproven Rotation
Analysis: New York added the two-time Cy Young winner, recently bitten by the injury bug, to a rotation filled with uncertainty.
Hours after locking up The Machine, the Yankees added a refurbished Klubot to their rotation.
New York landed Corey Kluber on Friday, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $11 million. The deal comes two days after the righty threw a showcase for about 25 teams in Florida.
Kluber, a two-time Cy Young winner in Cleveland, is coming off two injury-plagued seasons. His 2019 campaign featured just seven starts and 35.2 innings pitched thanks to a line drive that fractured his right arm and an abdominal injury. His 2020 season, meanwhile, included only one inning for the Texas Rangers after he tore his teres major muscle, which connects the arm and the shoulder. Some on the team wondered if the quick ramp-up following the restart of the pandemic-affected season contributed to the injury.
The Rangers declined Kluber’s $18 million option in October. Now the Yankees are gambling a good chunk of change on Kluber, hoping he can add some stability to a rotation that has plenty of other question marks.
There is no guarantee that Kluber, 34, returns to form, but there was also no team better positioned to make that wager than New York. Kluber has been training with Yankees director of player fitness Eric Cressey, thus giving them added insight on the pitcher’s health and capabilities beyond what they were able to glean from Wednesday’s showcase. That audition, by the way, took place at Cressey’s facility in Florida.
Clearly, the Yankees, armed with information, believe Kluber can still be an impact pitcher.
He’ll have to be. Like Kluber, every potential Yankees starter currently on the roster – besides Gerrit Cole – has something to prove. Consider New York’s options:
-Jordan Montgomery received his first significant workload in 2020 following Tommy John surgery. He recorded a 5.11 ERA over 10 starts, though he did pitch well in a must-win ALDS game.
-Deivi García, considered New York’s No. 3 prospect, will be just 22 in May and has made six career starts.
-Domingo Germán impressed in 2019, but he has not pitched in the majors since that September after being suspended for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.
-Clarke Schmidt, New York’s No. 2 prospect, got just three games and one start under his belt in 2020.
-Michael King, soon to be 26, surrendered 13 earned runs in four starts in 2020.
-Luis Severino, barring any setbacks, will not return from Tommy John surgery until midseason.
(Side note: Imagine having Kluber, Severino and Cole in the same rotation in 2018. Kluber was fresh off his second Cy Young and heading for another top-three finish, Severino had just logged his own top-three finish and was a 19-game winner, and Cole began a stretch of dominance that he’s been on ever since.)
Even if Kluber looks like his old self, the Yankees would still be relying on a bunch of unproven, young arms and pitchers with injury histories if those are the only starters they take into the 2021 season. And while highly touted prospects like García and Schmidt and others offer plenty of upside, the Yankees have championship aspirations. Betting on potential could jeopardize those ambitions.
There are still some veteran options available via free agency and trade, including Masahiro Tanaka. The Yankees would be wise to add one before Opening Day.
Kluber is a promising start and a significant upgrade if he looks anything close to how he did in Cleveland, but New York’s rotation could still use some insurance.
Gary Phillips is a reporter, writer and editor for hire. He has written for The Athletic, The New York Times, Sporting News, USA Today Sports, Bleacher Report and Yankees Magazine, among others. He can be reached at garyhphillips@outlook.com.