The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)

Yankees sign Kluber, LeMahieu

- By Ronald Blum

NEW YORK » The New York Yankees made a pair of big moves on the free-agent market, reaching a deal with right-hander Corey Kluber worth $11 million for one year and agreeing to a $90 million, six-year contract to keep AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu, a person familiar with the negotiatio­ns told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Jan. 15 because each agreement is subject to a successful physical.

Kluber, the 2014 and 2017 AL Cy Young Award winner, won 56 games for Cleveland over the 2016-18 seasons, then missed the rest of the 2019 season after he was hit on the right forearm that May 1 by a comebacker off the bat of Miami’s Brian Anderson. He finished 2-3 with a 5.80 ERA in seven starts.

Traded after the season to Texas, Kluber tore a muscle in his right shoulder in his Rangers debut on July 26, finishing his season after one inning. The injury did not require surgery, and he held a workout for scouts on Wednesday.

Kluber, who turns 35 on April 10, is a three-time AllStar who is 98-58 with a 3.16 ERA in 10 seasons, the first nine with the Indians.

He joins a rotation headed by Gerrit Cole that also includes Deivi García, left-hander Jordan Montgomery and, at some point, Luis Severino when he returns from Tommy John surgery last Feb. 27. It is not clear whether the Yankees will re-sign Masahiro Tanaka, who became a free agent.

LeMahieu, who turns 33 in July, became the first player to win undisputed batting titles in both leagues. He won his first AL batting title last year at .364, the highest average for an AL batting champion since Minnesota’s Joe Mauer hit .365 in 2009, after winning the NL championsh­ip with Colorado in 2016.

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