Corey Kluber not done yet
Most pitchers would give anything to have the career that Corey Kluber has had up until this point. The 34-year-old has won the American League CY Young Award twice with the Cleveland Indians. But after winning 20 games in 2018 with Cleveland, he fractured his right arm in 2019 during a game against the Miami Marlins and has not been the same since. He also suffered an abdominal injury and his most recent setback of a muscle issue over the past two years.
He is not giving up hope though as he looks to get back to playing Major League Baseball sooner rather than later.
“I don’t have a mindset that I need to prove myself to anyone, so to speak,” the 34-year-old said in a phone interview recently, via ESPN. “I just need to show people that I’m healthy. I’m not putting pressure on myself to go out there and do X, Y and Z. It’s just about showing teams I’m progressing through a normal offseason.”
MLB teams are clearly interested in seeing what the veteran still has to offer with about two thirds of the league sending scouts to watch his 25-30 pitch tryout on Wednesday in Florida. The bullpen session will be an opportunity for Kluber to show that he can still be a dangerous weapon.
“I don’t think anyone was really prepared to figure out how to train in that environment,” Kluber said of his most recent injury he suffered while with the Texas Rangers last season. “Now, having gone through it, I think I have a better idea of how to get the work you need in. It helps to have Eric’s place in Massachusetts and in Florida.”
Kluber has spent time with pitching coach Eric Cressey as he looks to get back into game shape for the 2021 MLB season.
“My low moment was after that first inning in Texas just because I had spent over a year working my butt off to get to that point,” Kluber said, via ESPN. “One of the things I wanted to make sure that I did while I was hurt [in 2019] was piece together that puzzle and what had gone sideways and how do I get on track. And I think we did that.”
It remains to be seen whether Kluber will be able to earn himself a new contract on Wednesday, but given the demand for pitching across the league it’s hard to see him not landing somewhere if he can stay healthy. Along with winning the American League CY Young Award twice, he is also a three-time All Star and has a plethora of experience that would be valuable to any clubhouse.
Kluber has also learned from his injury last year and is more prepared coming into the 2021 campaign.
“I didn’t have to spend the first month of the offseason piecing things back together,” Kluber said. “But I tried the whole silver lining approach last year. I think I’ve stopped questioning why after this latest one. It is what it is.”
