Corey Kluber completes first rehab appearance
Corey Kluber made his first return with a rehab appearance for the AA Portland Sea Dogs. The last time Red Sox pitcher Corey Kluber pitched in a game was June 20th, in which he pitched 3 innings in relief and gave up 4 earned runs off of 3 home runs. This appearance comes one month after being placed on the injured list on June 21st.
Like the role he most recently served in for the Red Sox, Kluber appeared in a relief role. Pitching 2 innings, his velocity sat around the mid to high 80s mph. Kluber, a pitcher who has never dominated with his velocity, has averaged about 88 mph on his fastball this year.
When asked about his velocity, he said, “Didn’t look at it.”
Signing with the Red Sox for $10 million on a one-year deal this offseason, Kluber struggled to begin the year and was ultimately moved from the rotation to the bullpen. Coming into this season, the last time the former Cy Young winner pitched out of the bullpen was in 2013.
The command has been a struggle for Kluber this year, but when asked if anything has changed mechanics-wise he said, “Not particularly. I think it was a little bit of battling through some stuff without me realizing it. Altering the way I was throwing, things like that. Trying to figure things out on the fly, you know, a little bit tougher.”
Kluber did not disclose what the next step is for him in his rehab process. What is known is the Sea Dogs will be eating well tonight. When asked who’s covering the spread between him and Trevor Story, Kluber said, “Trevor’s here for a couple days, so I got it tonight.”
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