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MLB Trade Rumors: Dodgers Likely Among Teams With Interest In Corey Kluber

Matthew Moreno
2 Min Read
Erik Williams/USA TODAY Sports

With the Los Angeles Dodgers having missed out on marquee starting pitchers Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg in free agency, the trade market may prove to be the best path to bolstering their rotation.

L.A. has been linked to Madison Bumgarner and Hyun-Jin Ryu, though each comes with respective question marks. Meanwhile, as the Dodgers and Cleveland Indians reportedly revisited Francisco Lindor trade talks, discussions are believed to have grown to include Mike Clevinger as well.

That came as somewhat of a surprise considering indications had largely suggested Corey Kluber as the most likely pitcher the Indians could part with. As such, interest and speculation involving the 33-year-old have again resurfaced in recent days.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Dodgers are likely among the teams that have some level of interest in Kluber:

The right-hander is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him make just seven starts. He missed the final few months of the year after sustaining a fractured right forearm on May 1.

While he was unable to pitch much in 2019, Kluber is not far removed from an All-Star campaign in 2017 that also saw him win the American League Cy Young Award. He followed that up by going 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA and AL-leading 215 innings pitched. Kluber finished third in Cy Young voting.

Kluber’s contract includes an $18 million team option for the 2021 season. Comparatively, Clevinger is in the first year of being arbitration-eligible. Of course, Clevinger’s youth and team control would allow for the Indians to command a larger return if he was packaged with Lindor.

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Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com