The Tampa Bay Rays have bolstered their pitching depth by signing veteran starting pitcher Corey Kluber. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that the two sides agreed to a one-year contract.
Free-agent RHP Corey Kluber in agreement with Rays on one-year deal, pending physical, sources tell @TheAthletic. Kluber, 35, missed more than three months with right shoulder strain before rejoining Yankees in late August. Finished with 3.83 ERA in 80 IP, including no-hitter.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 28, 2021
Kluber remains in the American League East after spending last season with the New York Yankees. The newest addition to the Rays had a pretty solid 2021 season despite missing a good chunk of it with a shoulder injury. He posted an ERA of 3.83 in 16 starts, as well as an ERA+ of 112. He also recorded 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings and threw a no-hitter against one of his former teams, the Texas Rangers.
The 35-year-old right-handed pitcher has 11 years of MLB experience under his belt. He had a very successful nine-year stint with the Cleveland Indians, earning two Cy Young Awards and three consecutive All-Star appearances. He received MVP votes in three seasons.
Adding Kluber is especially important for a Rays pitching group that is in dire need of help. Tampa Bay let one of its starting pitchers, Michael Wacha, get away to the Boston Red Sox in free agency. One of their other key pitchers, Tyler Glasnow, may be out the entirety of next season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Tampa Bay is coming off of an AL-leading 100 wins in the regular season but fell to the Red Sox in the AL Divisional Series. Adding Kluber and extending budding star shortstop Wander Franco to a mega contract extension have been the Rays key offseason moves.
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