MLB Hot Stove Morning Brew: Corey Kluber undecided on future, Cody Bellinger to land massive long-term deal?
Corey Kluber’s first and only season with the Red Sox was a nightmare. The two-time Cy Young award winner logged just 55 innings and posted a 7.04 ERA before missing the rest of the season with right shoulder soreness.
Kluber is uncertain whether he’ll continue to pitch.
“We’ll see,” Kluber said at Pedro Martinez’s gala on Friday night. “We’ll see what opportunities come about. Still in the decision-making process. If something comes up that works out for us, then I’d love to. We’ll see how it goes.”
Kluber, who’ll turn 38 in April, was the Red Sox Opening Day starter, following signing a one-year, $10 million deal last December.
The former Cleveland ace tossed just 55 innings last season, allowing 69 hits and walking 21 batters over that span. He was demoted to the bullpen in May, where he continued to pitch poorly.
Boston placed Kluber on the injured list in May with right shoulder inflammation. Kluber would make rehab appearances but was never able to make it back to the majors this season.
If Kluber wants to pitch next season, it’s highly unlikely he’ll secure a guaranteed contract, seemingly will need to take a minor league pact.
“If you play long enough, you’ll have some good years and some bad years,” Kluber said. “I think you can dissect all of them and figure out things to improve on. Obviously, I didn’t perform the way I would have liked to. But you can’t dwell on it. I think you just move past it and move on.”
The right-handed veteran told the media his back and shoulder feel good entering the offseason. Kluber also said he doesn’t plan on working out at Cressey Performance, his offseason home for years.
“I felt good at the end of the year,” Kluber said. “It just wasn’t in the cards to run back out there. But I feel good.
“Just doing stuff on my own right now. I feel like I’ve done it enough offseasons that I kind of have an idea of things to do.”
Cody Bellinger to get a massive long term deal in free agency?
Cody Bellinger had a career resurgence in Chicago last season. After signing a one-year deal in free agency, the lefty mashed for the Cubs, positioning himself for a massive payday this winter.
Bellinger was impressive, hitting .307 with 153 hits, 26 homers, 97 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and posting a .881 OPS.
While on MLB Network on Thursday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post believes that Bellinger will be highly courted by the Cubs, Yankees and Giants. However, he believes that Bellinger will return to the Windy City.
“I think ultimately he’s going to end up with one of those three teams, most likely the Cubs or Yankees,” he said.
The Yankees make a ton of sense, Brian Cashman has already been on the record saying he intends to pursue left-handed hitting outfielders.
Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras hasn’t ruled out a return back to the Dodgers, either.
“Our position on that is that Cody’s told me to look at the full gamut of the major leagues. Listen to everybody and he’ll make his decision from there,” said Boras at the GM Meetings.
MLBTradeRumors predicts that Bellinger will land a massive long term deal, 12-years, $264 million with a club.
“Brandon Nimmo reset the center field market with a $20.25MM annual value over eight seasons from the Mets at age 30,” the popular baseball website wrote. “He’d never reached Bellinger’s MVP heights, although he’d also never experienced anything like his downturn. Nimmo’s deal ran through age 37. Bogaerts was paid through 40 off a very similar platform showing to Bellinger’s 2023, albeit with more career consistency.
“We’re betting on Bellinger’s youth winning out. Bogaerts, Machado, Turner and Rafael Devers all signed decade-long deals last winter as teams sought to diminish the AAV. An 11-year or 12-year pact could be on the table. A $22MM AAV over 12 years would narrowly beat Nimmo’s annual salaries while pushing past $250MM total,” added the web site.
The $22 million AAV is affordable for most teams, but his past history of freak injuries landing him on the injured list, makes it seem skeptical that Bellinger lands the security of that contract.
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