The Boston Red Sox continued their eventful offseason on Wednesday, reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with starting pitcher Corey Kluber.
As noted by numerous Red Sox media members and those in the Boston area, the consensus remains that Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom needs to do more, particularly in the starting rotation. Rich Hill agreed to a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday and though he’ll be 43 in March, the soft-tossing lefty provided a reliable arm in the rotation in 2022. The team also said goodbye to 2018 World Series hero and 2021 All-Star starter Nathan Eovaldi, who recently signed with the Texas Rangers.
One potential boom for Red Sox Nation was the recent signing of closer Kenley Jansen, though the three-time All-Star stopper is already 35 years old. With Kluber turning 37 in April, some think that Bloom may still be living in the past.
Along with the Jansen and Kluber additions, Boston has also brought in two-time All-Star third baseman Justin Turner (38 years old) and star Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida, among others. While the losses of Hill and Eovaldi could hurt, nobody will leave as strong an impact as stud shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who had spent his entire career with Boston until signing with the San Diego Padres earlier this month.
Ideally for Bloom and company, Kluber can turn back the clock and Chris Sale can stay healthy to form a solid top part of the starting rotation. The former fourth-round draft pick joins the Red Sox with three All-Star nods and two AL Cy Young awards to his credit, but those all came between 2014 and 2018.
After five straight seasons with at least 29 starts and 200 innings pitched during that stretch, Kluber was limited to 24 starts and 116 2/3 innings pitched from 2019 to 2021. He signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays last offseason and went 10-10 with a 4.34 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 139 strikeouts across 164 innings pitched in 31 starts in 2022.
