The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Rangers decline $18M option on Kluber
The Texas Rangers on Oct. 30 declined the $18 million contract option on right-hander Corey Kluber, who lasted just one inning in his only start before a shoulder injury ended his season.
Kluber gets a $1 million buyout, and the club has said it is interested in resigning Kluber to a less expensive deal. The Rangers acquired the two-time Cy Young Award winner from Cleveland last offseason in a trade that sent hard-throwing reliever Emmanuel Clase to the Indians. Clase was suspended 80 games after testing positive for a banned performance- enhancing substance.
Kluber threw 18 pitches in his only inning for the Rangers, leaving with shoulder tightness in a 5-2 loss to Colorado in the third game of the season. The 34-year- old was diagnosed with a small tear in his shoulder muscle the next day.
It was Kluber’s first appearance with a team other than Cleveland, and his first start in almost 15 months after his right forearm was
broken by a line drive in what ended up being his final start for the Indians on May 1, 2019. Kluber was close to returning later that season when an oblique injury sidelined him again.
Kluber’s five-year run as an opening day starter ended this past season. He was 98-58 with a 3.16 ERA for the Indians and pitched at least 200 innings five straight seasons before breaking his forearm.
Tigers hire Hinch
As he waited out his suspension this year, AJ Hinch knew he wanted to return to baseball. The question was whether anyone in the sport would be ready to welcome him.
His answer came pretty quickly.
“About 30 minutes after the World Series’ last out, my phone rang,” Hinch said.
It was Detroit general manager Al Avila, telling
Hinch to get on a plane. The Tigers quickly hired Hinch as their new manager, giving him a chance to return to a major league dugout after he was fired by Houston in the wake of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
It may take a while for Hinch to overcome the stigma of what happened in Houston, but he and his new bosses were ready to address the topic Friday.
“I understand the question and I understand how wrong it was, and I’m sorry for that,” Hinch said. “I’ve said that before, I’ll say it again, I’ll continue to say it. I’ll never forget the feeling that I’ve had throughout the past year as I’ve navigated this with my family, but you quickly get to the exciting time of getting back and leading a group of men again, and establishing what Tigers baseball’s going to be all about.
“I’m sorry that today, that has to be a topic, and I understand why.”
The 46-year-old Hinch replaces Ron Gardenhire, who retired late this season. He takes over a team that has been rebuilding for the past few years.
Hinch guided Houston to the 2017 World Series title, but that championship — and a lot of what he accomplished there — is now viewed in a different light after an investigation found the Astros used a video feed from a center field camera to decode the opposing catcher’s signs, and players banged on a trash can to signal to hitters what was coming. In January, Major League Baseball suspended Hinch and Astros GM Jeff
Luhnow for the season and the Astros immediately fired both.
Mets sale approved
Major League Baseball owners voted to approve the sale of the New York Mets to billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen.
The sale from the Wilpon and Katz families values the franchise at between $2.4 billion and $2.45 billion, a record for a baseball team. The sale is likely to close within 10 days.
An entity controlled by Cohen will own 95% of the franchise, and the Wilpon and Katz families will retain 5% of the team.
Former Mets general manager Sandy Alderson will return as team president.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that the city does not object to the sale. The city had the right to review the proposed transfer of the lease of Citi Field, the Mets’ home since 2009.
The current Mets ownership group is headed by Fred Wilpon, brother-in-law Saul Katz and Wilpon’s son Jeff, the team’s chief operating officer.