Guardians hire former ace Corey Kluber as special pitching assistant

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CLEVELAND — Corey Kluber stood in the home bullpen at Progressive Field on Tuesday afternoon, his hands tucked inside the front pocket of his navy Guardians hoodie as he watched Tanner Bibee throw a side session.

Ten years and one day ago, Kluber authored one of the most dazzling pitching performances in the 125-year history of Cleveland’s baseball franchise. Now, he’s back at the venue where he implausibly emerged as one of the league’s most accomplished starting pitchers. Once again, it’s home.

The Guardians on Wednesday officially hired Kluber as a special assistant who will aid the organization’s pitchers, a role that figures to take more form as the season unfolds.

On May 13, 2015, Kluber carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the 100-win St. Louis Cardinals. He logged eight scoreless innings, and he piled up 18 strikeouts to tie Bob Feller’s franchise record. And there to witness it all was Feller’s widow, Anne, who had cut the ribbon that afternoon to unveil a new exhibit in the ballpark’s Terrace Club that honored her late husband. It was the ultimate Kluber showcase, with his two-seam fastball zipping back to catch the corner and his slurve dancing around hitters’ bats.

Corey Kluber pitches during the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Progressive Field on May 13, 2015. (Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)

And then there’s Kluber’s run in October 2016, which — up until Game 7 of the World Series, when his tank was emptier than a well in the Sahara — was the stuff of legend. He recorded a 0.89 ERA in his first five starts that postseason, despite twice pitching on short rest. With one more heroic swing or one more zero in Game 7, Cleveland would have had a championship, and Kluber would have a statue peering out at E. 9th Street.

Those credentials will aid Kluber in his new endeavor. He can lean on the ingredients that guided him to a pair of Cy Young awards, the keys to his five-year stretch of dominance and durability. From 2014-18, he registered a 2.85 ERA, averaged 246 strikeouts per season and limited the opposition to a .618 OPS.

But Kluber can also spread wisdom about the struggle, and it’s that side of the pitcher that makes him relatable to almost anyone he’s teaching.

Kluber was far from some hotshot prospect destined to receive one chance after another to prove he could sling it. He was a dart throw by Cleveland’s front office in 2010, when they shipped the last two months of Jake Westbrook’s contract to the Cardinals in a three-team deal that netted the Indians a relatively unknown Padres pitching prospect.

Kluber’s name didn’t surface on any top prospect list, but the Guardians weren’t positioned to ask for a haul, so they settled on a guy with a mildly intriguing strikeout rate. Even though he was 24 and pitching at Double A, they deemed him worth the low-risk investment.

Before he emerged as Cleveland’s ace, he was laboring through five-inning starts at Triple-A Columbus, where he logged a 5.56 ERA in 2011. He spent much of 2012 in the minors at the age of 26. Earlier this week, Kluber and Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis reminisced about those early days, when Kluber was far from a finished product. That, Willis said, should help Kluber in this next phase.

The last five years of his career, Kluber pitched for five teams and totaled only 335 innings. He dealt with injuries and declining velocity. He also tossed a no-hitter for the Yankees in 2021.

“I probably experienced pretty close to a full spectrum of things in a career,” Kluber said. “I wasn’t a very good minor-leaguer, figured out some stuff and still had to develop at this stage. … It’s having a lot of different types of experiences to build on. Hopefully, it presents opportunities to help guys with a lot of different things.”

He has already conversed with Gavin Williams, who has the ingredients but lacks the execution. He may eventually connect with some minor leaguers. He’s not entirely sure yet what the job will entail. But he knew last year he needed to remain involved in some capacity. When spring training arrived last February and his body barked at him to head to camp somewhere, he felt lost. He had retired, but baseball’s circadian rhythm takes far longer to shake.

“I needed something to do,” Kluber said, “something to work toward, something to feel a sense of accomplishment, aside from just driving the kids to school.”

After consulting Guardians president Chris Antonetti, Kluber joined the Guardians for four days in spring training. He has popped in during several homestands since the regular season commenced.

“A lot of it is building relationships,” he said, “getting to know them, trying to learn about the guys, whether it be how they pitch or how they tick mentally. That presents a better opportunity to find meaningful moments to suggest something.”

Enough time has passed that Kluber said he’s not familiar with any of Cleveland’s pitchers. Williams was a teenager at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, N.C., when Kluber submitted that 18-strikeout masterpiece. Earlier this week, the two talked about pitch arsenals and being patient with development.

“Who better to have than Corey Kluber to be an influence on your starting pitching?” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.

Vogt faced Kluber for six at-bats over two July games in 2015 and 2016. Vogt went 2-for-5 with a walk, a double and a home run. The home run accounted for the only scoring in a 2-0 Athletics win on July 12, 2015, when Sonny Gray outdueled Kluber.

Vogt said he has yet to remind Kluber of that encounter.

“Still in the get-to-know-you phase,” Vogt quipped.

Kluber wasn’t bested often in those days. When he anchored Cleveland’s rotations, his teammates would be glued to his side sessions. They would study his arsenal and try to replicate his two-seam fastball. They would marvel at his consistency, his regimen, the way he’d zero in on Yan Gomes’ glove and convert everything else into white noise.

He was the face of Cleveland’s pitching factory, a forgotten prospect who bloomed into an unquestioned ace. Now, he’s back to help unlock the potential of the next great Cleveland hurler.

“When he speaks,” Willis said, “they’re going to listen. … He has a wealth of information to share.”

(Top photo of Corey Kluber pitching for Cleveland against the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series: Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)

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