Following the 2022 season, the Boston Red Sox and GM Chaim Bloom had some decisions to make in regard to some of their free agents. When it came to retaining some of their own, they chose to let some walk.
Xander Bogaerts was the biggest name that left in free agency, but pitchers Michael Wacha and Ethan Eovaldi were also going out the door. After not re-signing them, Bloom brought in veteran Corey Kluber to anchor the top of the rotation with Chris Sale. It is turning into a disastrous decision that has hit rock bottom.
Boston Red Sox moving Kluber to bullpen another failed offseason move
Simply put, Kluber has been but a disaster for the Boston Red Sox. At 37 years old, his best days are behind him and his career is on life support in Boston and now he’s being moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen.
He is 2-6 with a 6.26 ERA in 42.1 innings pitched and 34 strikeouts. In his latest outing against the San Diego Padres on Sunday, he lasted just 2.1 innings, giving up five runs, three hits, and walking three. Throwing 64 pitches, only 35 strikes, and a loaded Padres lineup, minus Manny Machado, avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of Kluber.
The signs have been there since the beginning of the season. On Opening Day, he surrendered a home run to Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles in the second at-bat of the game at Fenway Park. He has given up 11 home runs so far in 2023 and going to the bullpen is a desperate move by manager Alex Cora to see if Kluber can find it one more to rejoin the rotation.
ADLEY RUTSCHMAN JUST HOMERED ON HIS FIRST OPENING DAY!!! pic.twitter.com/jsnKMuvW1e
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 30, 2023
After winning the first two games of their nine-game, three-city West Coast trip, the Red Sox have dropped three in a row and their offense has gone south big time. Aside from Sunday, their pitching has kept them in games, but their offense is struggling mightily.
Moving Kluber to the bullpen is another mark of Bloom’s offseason. It was bad enough losing Bogaerts, but to let Wacha and Eovaldi, who are off to terrific starts with their new teams, walk and replacing them with Kluber is another blunder of a decision. The American League East is loaded and, despite it being late May, the Red Sox pitching is in trouble. Sale has been better of late, but now Cora is putting his stock in young arms such as Brayan Bello and Tanner Houck, and they hope that James Paxton’s first couple of starts are a sign of things to come, not his last one against the Los Angeles Angels where he gave up five runs in three innings and two home runs.
The Boston Red Sox are clearly not the big-spending team they once were and slowly that is being felt. Bloom has decided to go the veteran route with Kluber and that move is backfiring. It’s just another example of how bad some decisions were over the winter. At this point, they should just take a flyer on Madison Bumgarner. What else could go wrong?