Philadelphia Phillies: Corey Kluber would be a fantastic addition

Philadelphia Phillies would be wise to pounce on Corey Kluber.

On Wednesday, 25 teams congregated at a private location in Florida to watch the free agent showcase for veteran starting pitcher Corey Kluber. Among those 25 teams, was the Philadelphia Phillies, who seem to be interested in adding the right hander to a rotation that already has multiple high end arms in Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Zach Eflin (to an extent.)

While I cannot say it is totally surprising the Philadelphia Phillies were in attendance (as they should be doing their due diligence), it is encouraging that they seem to be interested. Corey Kluber has had a fantastic major league career, and now at the age of 34 (soon to be 35), he is now entering the twilight years of his career.

His last two seasons have been completely marred by injuries, but this is a guy who does appear to have some gas left in the tank. The 2019 season was lost after he broke his right hand after being struck by a line drive, and this past season was more of the same, as he was shut down for the year following one start with a shoulder injury.

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All reports indicate the showcase on Wednesday went fantastic, and Kluber looked healthy and as sharp as ever. While it has been reported his fastball hovered between 88-90 mph, you would have to think this would increase as he gets stronger and stronger preparing for the 2021 season. He also threw all of his off-speed pitches, and there does appear to be a strong market for the veteran quickly developing.

While I am sure some fans and pundits would rather stay away from a 35 year old veteran that has had injury issues in recent years, pitchers of Kluber’s pedigree are not typically available on one-year type deals at the price that it appears it may cost. Most reports indicate the market may sit around $6-8 million with incentives, which COULD be an absolute bargain.

From 2014-2018, Kluber was one of the best pitchers in all of Major League Baseball. In that time frame, he produced a record of 83-45 with an ERA of 2.85 in 160 starts. Pretty darn impressive. Oh, he also won two Cy Young awards in that span (2014 and 2017), while also finishing in the top 3 for Cy Young two other times (2016 and 2018). Throw in 17 complete games, 7 shutouts, 10.1 K/9, and only 0.9 HR/9, and you have yourself an incredible stretch. Throw in the fact all of this was accomplished in the American League, and you walk away even more impressed.

A rotation of Nola, Wheeler, Kluber, Eflin, and Spencer Howard/Vince Velasquez would be one of the best in the entire National League, and would give the Philadelphia Phillies a legitimate chance to win every single night.

With the Braves still being the Braves, and the Mets and Nationals continuing to get stronger, adding a guy like Corey Kluber could go a long way towards pushing the Philadelphia Phillies towards contention in the suddenly loaded National League East.

The first major domino fell the Phils’ way on Thursday when they added Archie Bradley on a one-year/$6 million dollar deal, but that should only be the start of what could be an interesting point of this offseason.

Bradley is a strong addition, but the Phillies cannot be finished, they must continue to add to this roster if they wish to contend in 2021. Corey Kluber would be a nice play to turn to next.