On the same day the team reportedly re-signed infielder DJ LeMahieu to a six-year, $90 million deal, the New York Yankees have their sights set on improving their rotation.
The Yankees have reportedly agreed to a deal with right-handed pitcher Corey Kluber, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The contract will be a one-year deal worth $11 million, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The deal is pending the completion of a physical.
Kluber, who turns 35 in April, has pitched just 36.2 innings over the past two seasons while dealing with a litany of injuries. He was traded to the Rangers last offseason but pitched only one inning before tearing a muscle in his right shoulder.
Prior to his recent spat of poor health, Kluber was among the most consistent pitchers in the game. From 2014 to 2018, Kluber posted a 2.85 ERA and pitched at least 203 innings in each season. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2014 and 2017, and has finished in the top three of voting two other times.
Yankees starters ranked fifth in the American League in 2020 with a 4.24 ERA, though several of last year’s starting pitchers are currently free agents. That group includes Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and James Paxton, who all remain unsigned.
Kluber threw a 30-pitch showcase earlier in the week, with nearly every team in attendance. He threw all of his off-speed pitches, and his fastball sat between 88-90 mph. In his eight starts since the beginning of the 2019 season, Kluber is 2-3 with a 5.65 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 16 walks.
