MLB Rumors: 3 teams who should take a chance on Corey Kluber

This one is pretty easy. Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey worked in the Cleveland Indians’ organization for a long time before coming to Minnesota, including when Kluber was acquired as a prospect from the San Diego Padres in 2010.

The Twins have two spots in the rotation locked in, with Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios. Michael Pineda is easily penciled in, as is Randy Dobnak. The bullpen has been thinned by departures (Trevor May, Sergio Romo), albeit with one addition (Hansel Robles), so pitching is a broad-based area in need of reinforcement right now. Re-signing Jake Odorizzi lingers as an option for the rotation, with multiple other teams in the mix.

https://twitter.com/SKORNorth/status/1349433559166152706?s=20

Kluber would likely slot in as the No. 3 starter for the Twins, perhaps with an early-season bump to between Maeda and Berrios as a nod to his veteran status. He would bump Pineda down the pecking order no matter what, thus lengthening a rotation that may have to reliably eat more innings in 2021.

The Twins have mostly sat idle while the Chicago White Sox have made moves and the Indians traded Francisco Lindor. Signing Kluber is not an offseason-defining move, but it would be something and it’d be a low-cost bet to help an area of need for Minnesota.