Red Sox attend Kluber showcase
Two-time Cy Young winner works out for host of teams in Florida
The level of the Red Sox’ interest in free-agent pitcher Corey Kluber remains unclear, but they’re at least doing their due diligence.
The Red Sox were one of the teams to attend Kluber’s showcase on Wednesday in Florida, a source confirmed to the Herald. The two-time Cy Young winner threw a bullpen session in front of representatives from reportedly about 25 teams at the Cressey Sports Performance facility in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, as he looks to sign with a team after two lost seasons due to injury.
Kluber was joined by freeagent relievers Steve Cishek and Anthony Swarzak, who the Red Sox also watched. The three pitchers are represented by the same agency, Jet Sports Management.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, scouts came away “impressed” by Kluber’s bullpen session, in which he threw 30 pitches. His fastball sat at 88-90 mph and he showed his off-speed stuff, too.
The 34-year-old Kluber, who turns 35 in April, was traded from the Indians to the Rangers last year but made just one start in 2020. He left his debut after one inning with a torn teres major muscle in his right shoulder. He also missed most of the 2019 season after he fractured his right arm.
Kluber has made just eight starts and thrown 36 M innings over the last two seasons, and he said in a recent interview with ESPN that the workout was mostly to show teams that the injuries were behind him.
“I don’t have a mindset that I need to prove myself to anyone, so to speak,” Kluber said. “I just need to show people that I’m healthy. I’m not putting pressure on myself to go out there and do X, Y and Z. It’s just about showing teams I’m progressing through a normal offseason.”
Kluber has been living and training in Winchester, Massachusetts, where his wife Amanda is from, during every offseason since 2016. His trainer, Eric Cressey, also has a facility in Hudson, but they opted to do the workout in Florida because of lighter restrictions during the pandemic. But his familiarity with Massachusetts, where he and his wife continue to raise their children, certainly doesn’t hurt the Red Sox’ chances of landing him.
The Yankees, Mets, Rays and Blue Jays are also among the many teams who were reportedly at Wednesday’s workout.
Kluber spent nine seasons with the Indians, where he was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. He won the Cy Young in 2014 and 2017, and finished third twice, including in 2018, his last full season in the majors when he went 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA and 222 strikeouts.