Cubs considering former Cy Young winner to shore up pitching rotation

The Chicago Cubs are looking at an aged pitcher who might still have some left in the tank to beef up their rotation.

The Chicago Cubs should be looking to make some moves, especially after missing out on Jose Abreu, who left the cross-town rival White Sox to sign with the Houston Astros.

While the Cubs could stand to gain from adding a star shortstop like Carlos Correa or, perhaps more likely, Xander Bogaerts, they are also looking at pitching upgrades too.

Outside of solutions on offense, they are apparently eyeing former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber to join their pitching rotation.

 Corey Kluber’s past success ties him with Cubs

Chicago Cubs fans remember that in 2016, en route to a World Series victory — the first since 1908 — they had to face Corey Kluber three times.

In Game 1, he posted a six-inning, four-hit, no-run performance. The then-Cleveland Indians won 3-1.

In Game 4 he gave up five hits and a run in six more innings, a game Cleveland would also win. Across his first two games his ERA was 0.75.

In Game 7, he once again started for the Indians. He pitched just four innings, giving up two home runs and four earned runs in total. Cubs fans remember that game well, Chicago came out on top 8-7 over Cleveland.

Kluber, an All-Star that year and third-place in Cy Young voting, would go on to be a second-time Cy Young winner the following year with Cleveland.

Since, he’s gone to play for the Rangers, Yankees, and Rays, though he was injured for the entirety of the 2020 season as a member of the Rangers.

In 2021, Kluber came back as a consistent rotation member with the Yankees, even throwing a no-hitter (ironically, in Texas on a night the Rangers gave out a bobblehead of his they were unable to the night of).

With the Rays last year his ERA climbed to 4.34. Kluber’s sub-3.0 ERA days are behind him but he probably has a decent run of quality starts (he had 15 in 2022) left in the tank.

Kluber won’t be an ace in the hole for whatever team he signs with, but he probably won’t be a major sore spot either. For an affordable deal, he’s a worthy rotation add, especially considering the veteran wisdom he can impart.