A day after the Red Sox saw two starting pitchers sever ties with the club by signing elsewhere, the Red Sox recovered at least somewhat by signing veteran righthanded starter Corey Kluber to a one-year deal with a club option for a second season.
Kluber will earn $10 million for 2023, with the club holding an option for $11 million for 2024. The Boston Globe was the first to report the salaries involved in the deal.
The Red Sox have pursued Kluber in the recent past, only to twice lose out to him. When the club insisted on an option for a second year after the 2020 season, Kluber took the same amount offered for one-year from the Sox and signed with the New York Yankees instead. Last winter, the Sox again went after Kluber, who chose the Tampa Bay Rays instead, as the Sox signed Michael Wacha with the money.
Kluber, 36, was 10-10 with a 434 ERA in 31 starts with the Rays. The 164 innings he pitched for Tampa Bay were the most for him in a single season since 2018.
The signing comes in the immediate aftermath of Nate Eovaldi getting a two-year deal with the Texas Rangers and Rich Hill taking a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Together, Hill and Eovaldi combined to make 46 starts for the 2022 Red Sox.
Klubernspends his offseason in Winchester, Mass., where his wife was raised. From 2014 through 2018 while with the Cleveland Indians, Kluber was one of the best starters in the game, winning two Cy Young Awards (2014, 2017) while finishing third in the balloting two other times. He received Cy Young votes in each one of those five seasons.
He then battled injuries over the next two seasons and was limited to eight starts in those two years. He rebounded somewhat in 2021 with the Yankees, but still missed half the season with various physical issues. Last year, he re-established himself as more of a workhorse, and pitched to a 3.57 FIP.
BSJ ANALYSIS
Even at his age, Kluber provides some certainty to a Red Sox rotation that otherwise has a multitude of question marks.
The rotation is headed by Chris Sale, who was limited to two starts last year, having been hampered by a broken rib, a broken pinky finger and finally, a broken wrist, Similarly, the team is counting on a big bounce-back season from James Paxton, who exercised a player option to return for 2023 after missing all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Over the last two seasons combined, Paxton and Sale have combined to register just 70.1 innings, calling into question just how much the Sox can depend on the duo going forward.
In addition, the team has penciled in Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello for the rotation, while keeping open the possibility that Tanner Houck could also join the rotation if a need arises. Whitlock and Bello have combined to make 20 starts over their brief major league careers. Whitlock has pitched in relief more -- and been more effective in that capacity -- while Bello made his major league debut last summer.
Bello is among the most highly touted pitching prospects the organization has developed over the past decade, but show that he can compete and win at the big leagues on a regular basis. At the same time, it's difficult to assess Whitlock's ceiling, since he's made so few starts in his two years in the major leagues.
Finally, the Sox have Nick Pivetta in the mix. Pivetta, who tied for the league lead in games started in 2022, has been durable in two seasons and the Red Sox love his competitiveness. But in two years with the Sox, Pivetta sports an inflated 4.47 ERA and he struggled mightily against the team's AL East foes last year.
Beyond those starters, the Red Sox have other options to which they can turn, including Josh Winckowski, Connor Seabold and Kutter Crawford. Bryan Mata, Brandon Walter and Chris Murphy represent additional options in the minors, though none has pitched so much as inning in the big leagues to date.
Finally, there's Houck, who was told recently to prepare to start in 2023, though the Sox are holding out the possibility that he could contribute more out of the bullpen. In fact, Kluber's signing -- giving the Sox six rotation choices -- may result in Houck pitching in that capacity, at least to start the season.
Add it all up, and while the Red Sox' rotation lacks an obvious ace -- unless Sale can defy age and his recent injury history. But it does promise some intriguing depth and the potential, at least, for a solid rotation with numerous depth possibilities.
That's provided, of course, that the six can remain healthy.