Red Sox, Corey Kluber agree to deal; 2-time Cy Young winner gets $10M plus option (report)

On Tuesday, the Red Sox lost two veteran starters in Nathan Eovaldi and Rich Hill. On Wednesday, they struck a deal to fill one of the holes in their rotation.

Boston is in agreement to sign former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber to a one-year deal with a club option for 2024, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Kluber will earn $10 million in 2023, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. Per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the option is worth $11 million and the deal includes incentive bonuses. The contract is pending a physical and has not been confirmed by the team.

The Red Sox have expressed serious interest in signing Kluber, who lives in Massachusetts during the winter, in each of the last two offseasons but were unable to close deals as he signed with the Yankees before 2021 and the Rays for 2022. This time around, with Eovaldi signing with Texas, Hill signing with the Pirates and Michael Wacha still a free agent, the Sox were able to secure their target. Kluber will join Nick Pivetta, Chris Sale, James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello in Boston’s rotation mix to start the season; Boston was hopeful to add a veteran starter in recent weeks and has now accomplished that goal even after their pursuit of a reunion with Eovaldi failed.

Kluber, who turns 37 in April, made 31 starts for the Rays in 2022, posting a 4.34 ERA and 3.57 FIP in 164 innings (his highest innings total since 2018, when he finished third in Cy Young voting). He struck out 139 batters while walking just 21, which was good for a 6.62 K/BB ratio. Facing the Yankees, Orioles and Blue Jays last season, Kluber had a 5.03 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 14 walks.

Kluber is now on his third AL East team in the last three seasons after spending the first nine years of his career with Cleveland. With that franchise, he was a two-time Cy Young winner (2014 and 2017) and a three-time All-Star. In 12 major league seasons with Cleveland, Texas, New York and Tampa Bay, he’s 113-71 with a 3.31 ERA and 1,683 strikeouts in 256 appearances (251 starts).

In July, Kluber confirmed he had talked with the Red Sox in each of the previous two winters and raved about pitching as a visitor at Fenway Park.

“I think it’s an awesome city,” he told MassLive. I think it’s a great place. During the summer time, during baseball season, it’s hard to find a better place. I enjoy going there as a visitor. Fenway is one of, if not my favorite park in the big leagues. Just the environment, the history of it, all that sort of stuff. I just think it’s a very cool place.”

Kluber is the sixth major league free agent the Red Sox have signed this winter, joining relievers Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and Joely Rodríguez, outfielder Masataka Yoshida and infielder/designated hitter Justin Turner. Kluber, Jansen, Martin and Turner are all at least 35 years old.

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