Corey Kluber’s first inning of the season for the Texas Rangers might be his last
Corey Kluber’s comeback season might be over after only one inning, and the Texas Rangers have a significant hole to fill in their starting rotation.
The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner will be shut down for four weeks because of a strained muscle in the back of his right shoulder, and the best-case scenario is that he is able to pitch in relief at the end of the season.
Kluber was injured in the first inning Sunday in what was his first start since breaking his right arm May 1, 2019. He tossed a scoreless inning but did not return after complaining of tightness in his shoulder.
He underwent an MRI exam Monday morning, and it revealed a Grade 2 strain of his teres major muscle. He received an injection of platelet-rich plasma but will not throw for four weeks.
“It’s a blow. There is no getting around it,” said general manager Jon Daniels. “We felt like he was in a really good spot, had no physical issues at all. In talking to him today, he feels better than he has in years physically. No indication that this was coming.”
Left-hander Kolby Allard was the choice to replace Kluber, though the Rangers debated about another lefty, Joe Palumbo. Daniels said that Palumbo would serve them better in the short-term in the bullpen.
Allard seemed destined for the rotation before the Rangers acquired Kluber in a Dec. 15 trade with the Cleveland Indians for center fielder Delino DeShields and right-handed reliever Emmanuel Clase.
The addition was expected to give the Rangers one of the best rotations in baseball, as he joined 2019 holdovers Lance Lynn and Mike Minor and free-agent acquisitions Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles.
Kluber made only seven starts in 2019 before a line drive broke the ulna bone in his right arm May 1, 2019. He also had an oblique strain while attempting to rejoin the Indians’ rotation.
But Kluber was the Rangers most consistent starter during the three-week camp lead-up to the shortened 2020 regular season.
“He was throwing the ball really well,” Daniels said. “We felt really good about him in the rotation. Injuries are what they are. We have a lot of faith in our other guys.”
Daniels said it is too early to project if the Rangers will pick up the $18 million club option on Kluber, though he said the intention was for Kluber to be in the rotation beyond this season.
All they might get out of him this season is one inning.
“You can’t sugarcoat it,” Daniels said. “It stinks, but it’s part of the game.”
