New Yank Kluber sez he’s healthy, ready to roll
Pitchers and catchers are set to report to the Yankees spring training facility in about two weeks. At this point in the offseason, the newly minted Bronx Bomber Corey Kluber considers himself healthy and ready to start a new season with a new team.
“(It’s) a good feeling to be at, you know, kind of get out of the rehab mode and just kind of try to get ready for a season,” Kluber said Thursday during his Yankees introductory press conference.
Kluber, who will turn 35 in April, hasn’t pitched in a full season in two years because of injuries. The right-hander equated the untimely injuries to merely drawing the short straw. On Thursday, he said he’s feeling good and that the biggest challenge in his mind isn’t even physical.
“Honestly, I think that it’s probably more of overcoming the mental aspect of it,” Kluber said. “I think that kind of what I’m feeling I’m working on right now, as far as getting ready for the season is kind of getting out of that rehab mindset . ... And just get to the point of trying to execute pitches.
“Hopefully, when when we get there, and we have hitters in the box,” Kluber continued, “you’re not worrying about a delivery or anything like that, you’re just trying to get out.”
The Yankees finalized a deal with the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner on Jan. 15 to help fill out the open spots in their rotation. He joins a group that has some promise behind Gerrit Cole, but a lot of risks. One of the risks is Kluber.
In 2019, while still with Cleveland, Kluber broke his arm on a come-backer. In 2020 suffered a Grade 2 tear of the teres major muscle in the back of his right shoulder while pitching for the Texas Rangers during the pandemic-shortened season. He pitched a grand total of eight games and 37.2 innings over two seasons — not even a fraction of what his usual work load was between 2014 and 2018 when he was regularly in Cy Young and AllStar conversations while pitching more than 200 innings per season.
That Corey Kluber hasn’t been seen in a while. And for a Yankees team with World Series aspirations, the hope is for Kluber to regain his form for the long haul of a regular 162-game season (assuming MLB doesn’t shorten this season because of the pandemic).
To get back to his sub-3.00 ERA-self, Kluber plans to head into the year realistically, the way he always had. For instance, Kluber said he didn’t ever set a 200 -innings goal for himself all those other seasons anyway. It came with day to day experiences.
“I expect myself to be consistent, be reliable,” Kluber said,
“that’s the expectation that I have for myself. And it’s the expectation of the team has for me that’s, you know, I think we aligned on that... I think it’s the day to day process that allows those things to kind of fall in place.
Kluber’s focus — as it’s been every season since he made his MLB debut 10 years ago — will be on the 162-game season, making a usual start every fifth day or so in the rotation, and making adjustments wherever needed if his body doesn’t feel right. He’s also made adjustments to his pitches over the years regardless of injuries.
“I feel like I’m able to go out there and throw the ball the way that I did when I felt like I was at my best,” he said.
Kluber will arrive at spring training on Feb. 15 the same way he did last season: on a new team, trying to be more than his last injury, and with the recurring hope he can help make it to the promise land come October.