Report: Indians Sending Pitcher Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers
The Indians have been actively shopping two-time Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber for now two offseasons, and it finally looks like they have a deal that will end the 33-year-olds time in Cleveland.
Ken Rosenthal tweeted Sunday afternoon that the Indians are expected to deal Kluber today, and that the front runner for his services are the Texas Rangers, who would like to add a top starter to their rotation.
The return for Kluber isn't known, but based on the fact that he only pitched in seven games in 2019 due to injury it might not be as good as it could have been last offseason before he was hurt.
In those seven games last year Kluber went 2-3 with a 5.80 ERA. He was hit on the hand in Miami, which put him on the shelf for a majority of the season. He never made it back as he had a setback in a minor league start late in the season.
The Indians picked up Kluber's $17.5 million dollar option right after the conclusion of the 2019 season, but it became evident right away that he was again going to be on the trade block.
The Indians had another club option on Kluber for 2021, this time for $18 million. That option will become a vesting option that becomes guaranteed if he throws 160 innings in 2020, and doesn't end the year on the injured list.
If there's one position that the Indians can make a move from it's their starting rotation. Without Kluber for most of 2019 the team still won 93 games, and the franchise got a chance to see young arms like Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale throw in important games late in the season.
Plesac went 8-6 for the Indians with a 3.81 ERA, while Civale was 3-4 with a 2.34 ERA.
With Kluber gone the starting rotation could look like this when the team takes the field in late March against the Tigers on opening day: Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Carlos Carrasco, Plesac, Civale or Adam Plutko.
It will be the second starter the team has dealt in the last six months, as the team traded starter Trevor Bauer to the Cincinnati Reds in a three-team deal shortly before the trade deadline in July.
