Cleveland Guardians reunion with Corey Kluber not to be as pitcher signs with Red Sox

Corey Kluber's tour of the AL East will continue in 2023, as the former Cleveland ace is signing a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, with a club option for 2024.

It wasn't too long ago in these parts that we considered Kluber a great back-end-of-the-rotation option for the Guardians, thanks to his well-known pedigree, veteran presence, familiarity with the organization, and solid-enough stats in 2022. Kluber pitched pretty well for the Rays last season, with a 4.34 ERA/3.57 FIP and ridiculous 1.2 BB/9 in 31 starts.

So now, Kluber will head to a Red Sox rotation that is basically in shambles. Nathan Eovaldi just signed with the Texas Rangers and nobody can predict the health of Chris Sale at this point (not to mention he has been the subject of trade rumors as well). Beyond that, Boston will have to cobble something together, though Kluber and Garrett Whitlock are a decent combination, especially if free agent Michael Wacha comes back. Still, though, Boston is clearly going through a rebuild and could very well be fighting to stay out of the AL East basement in 2023.

If things really implode in Boston, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see Kluber moved by next year's trade deadline - after all, he still needs to cross Toronto and Baltimore off his list.

And just so Guardians fans can relive some of the good times from last season during this long and cold stretch of winter, Kluber last pitched against Cleveland in the wild-card round and, well, this happened: