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Corey Kluber traded to Texas Rangers

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The Cleveland Indians have agreed to a deal which will send two-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers.

Well it has finally happened. After over a year of trade speculation, Corey Kluber has been traded. Not to the Dodgers or Padres like many expected, but to the Texas Rangers. ESPN’s Jeff Passan had the report.

The trade will impact Kluber’s salary for 2020 and possibly 2021.

The deal is pending physicals per Jon Heyman.

Trade talks were intensifying after the Winter Meetings came to a close. After the report Saturday that the Angels were out on Corey Kluber, it felt like a deal was going to happen soon. Cleveland was apparently weighing their options and found one they liked.

The return for Cleveland is not what they could have gotten if they moved Kluber prior to last season. Kluber’s value was about as high as it was going to get. Well, for a pitcher on the wrong side of 30 with diminishing effectiveness on his pitches. Now it seems like Cleveland will end up receiving a fraction of what they could have gotten if they made the move last season.

Hindsight is 20/20. The Indians felt they could still contend and nobody expected Kluber to appear in only seven games in 2019. Not to mention that nobody expected Kluber to pitch so poorly in those games.

Corey Kluber will always be a fan favorite and will be remembered as one of the best pitchers the team has had in recent memory and part of squad the got so close to breaking their World Series drought.

UPDATE: INDIANS RETURN FOR KLUBER

As mentioned above, the return is not what it was going to be if the Indians moved him a year ago.

Emmanuel Clase is certainly an interesting acquisition. Clase can throw a cutter at or near 100 MPH and has the promise to be an integral part of the bullpen. Cleveland has survived off a slapped together bullpen the past couple seasons and with a potential rule change, guys like Oliver Perez are suddenly not as valuable. Finding relievers who can face more than batter will be required in the future. Cleveland is clearly hoping that Clase could do just that.

Delino DeShields Jr. seems to be more of a throw-in type player. DeShields has one more arbitration eligible year after 2020. DeShields is someone who has speed but is maddeningly inconsistent at the plate. What this does mean is the Yasiel Puig is more than likely gone for those holding out hope for a return. This also could mean that Cleveland could be looking to move some of their other outfielders in other trades. Players such as Greg Allen, Tyler Naquin and Bradley Zimmer to name a few. Adding another outfielder into the mix makes the outfield even more crowded. It would make sense for the Tribe to move one or more of their outfielders from last season.

Trade market for Corey Kluber becoming more clear

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Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is getting an almost surprising amount of interest during trade discussions this offseason.

Well, we can cross one team off and add one team to the list of clubs interested in Corey Kluber. The Los Angeles Angels are out according to reports. This is after Kluber was linked to the Angels earlier this week.

The team to add to the list? Texas. Apparently the Rangers have decided to throw their hats into the ring and are trying their hand at acquiring the two-time Cy Young Award winner.

The report of the Rangers being interested came before the Angels found themselves out of the running. Same with this report of the Padres still being in the mix.

To the surprise of no one, the Dodgers are still linked to Corey Kluber.

It seems that there is a sweepstakes of sorts. The Dodgers, Padres and Rangers all have interest in Corey Kluber. All teams need help in their rotation, some more than others. The interest from Texas seems to be mostly focused on Kluber while Los Angeles and San Diego could be eyeing on a combo package that also involves Francisco Lindor. The only hurdle with those discussions is that both the Dodgers and Padres are not willing to give up their top prospects. Something that needs to happen in order to acquire players of their caliber.

Here is the reality. Corey Kluber is not going to bring the return he would have a year ago. A season marred with injuries an poor performance will do that. Kluber only made seven starts before taking a line drive off his right forearm, ending his season. His 5.80 ERA and 1.654 WHIP were his worst since becoming a starter for the Tribe. Teams interested in his services are most likely assuming that last year was a fluke and a return to this previous Cy Young wining form is more likely than not.

Previously, many thought that Cleveland should wait for Kluber to rebuild his value before attempting to trade him. Now they are in a situation where they need to strike while the iron is hot and make a deal while they can. It appears that a trade of Corey Kluber will come sooner rather than later.