[ad_1]
Free agent right-hander Corey kluber hosted a showcase for interested teams today, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the lifters Anthony Swarzak and Steve cishek both also pitched for teams. (All three are clients of Jet Sports Management, so it is only natural that they organize the training together.) Up to 25 teams were present, tweets Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Passan notes that Kluber’s speed reached 90 mph, although given where he finds himself in the process of rehabilitating from last year’s injuries, it was not expected that it is reaching maximum speed at the moment. Eric Cressey, whose bodybuilding and conditioning facilities hosted the showcase, told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers yesterday that Kluber was at 87-89 mph in the previous session. Cressey suggested that Kluber is already ahead of many pitchers who have yet to step up their throws at this point. Kluber averaged 92 mph on his heater during his excellent 2018 campaign.
The full roster of teams in attendance is not known, although this is an open look at a two-time winner from Cy Young and a pair of relievers with considerable MLB experience at the end of the inning, it would be more remarkable to know which few teams were not than knowing which clubs were present. Yet it is at least interesting to note that each of the Food, Yankees, Nationals, Red Sox, Rays, twins, Cubs, Rangers, Marlins, Tigers, The Pirates, Blue jays, Diamondbacks and Indians would all have attended the window. Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list.
Generally speaking, if Kluber is indeed at a confident point in his rehab, one would imagine the market for him to be robust. The extent to which clubs are willing to bet on a guaranteed contract on the two-time winner Cy Young will vary, but he should easily command a big contract with plenty of incentives on top of the base that the highest bidder will pledge.
Kluber might be a lottery ticket at this point, but few bets have such a pronounced edge. From 2014 to 2018, the right-hander was one of the best pitchers in the game, working a combined 2.85 ERA while knocking out 28.5% of the hitters he faced against a walk rate of just 5.2%. . Only three of the 179 starting pitchers qualified during this period – Chris Sale, Clayton kershaw and Max Scherzer – exceeded Kluber’s 23.3 K-BB%.
Since that time, however, he has been limited to 36 2/3 innings by a fractured forearm (sustained when struck by a line workout), oblique tension, and teres major tension. Traded from Cleveland to Texas last winter, Kluber pitched just one round for the Rangers in 2020.
While the focus is mostly on Kluber, the presence of Swarzak and Cishek is certainly also notable. Both right-hangers are looking for their own rebounds. Swarzak signed with the Phillies last winter but was released at the end of summer camp and has not signed with another club. A two-year, $ 14 million deal he signed with the Mets ahead of the 2018 season proved unfortunate, as shoulder issues torpedoed those two seasons. However, in 2017, Swarzak released 77 1/3 frames with a 2.33 ERA with 91 punchouts versus just 22 steps.
Cishek, meanwhile, kicked off four straight seasons with an ERA of less than 3.00 from 2016-19, leading to a $ 6 million deal with the White Sox last winter. However, he didn’t last on the Chicago south side as he was roughed up for a 5.40 ERA in just 20 innings. Cishek’s control has moved in the wrong direction over the past two seasons, but he’s missed bats at his usual levels and hasn’t seen a drop in speed in 2020.
[ad_2]
Source link