Report: Chicago Cubs Showing Interest in Two-Time Cy Young Winner

Corey Kluber had reportedly appeared as a potential target on the Chicago Cubs free agent radar.

Only one National League team with a worse record than the Chicago Cubs got better production from their starters. For a team with a 74-88 record, few could have expected more from the Cubs rotation that posted a 3.95 ERA.

And yet, the Cubs are still looking for improvement. They've already shown their interest in Japanese ace Koudai Senga, but their visions haven't lingered on just one player.

Bruce Levin of The 670 Score reported that right-hander Corey Kluber is also on the Cubs radar.

Because of all the young talent coming up through the pipelines, and the rookie's who just made their debuts in 2022, the Cubs are focused on shorter term deals. They expect players like Justin Steele and Hayden Wesneski to be big players in the coming years, but they're not quite ready to be front-of-the-rotation starters just yet.

Thus Corey Kluber falls into the mix. 

From 2014 through 2018, he was the American League's most dominant pitcher. He pitched to a 2.85 ERA in that span and only missed a handful of starts. But injuries finally caught up him, and between 2019 and 2020, Kluber only made eight starts.

Since then he's rebounded on one-year deals. In the Bronx during 2021, Kluber was resurgent with a 3.83 ERA in 80.0 innings, but his 3.7 BB/9 was uncharacteristically above his career average of 2.0.

In 2022 with Tampa, his ERA ballooned to 4.34 over a larger 164.0 inning sample size, but his BB/9 was back under control. He lead MLB with 1.2, and his FIP was 3.57.

Kluber will likely cost less than what he's worth because of his mediocre ERA, but he could be due for a comeback in 2023 if his ERA lives up to his walk-rate.

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