The Red Sox are going to have their former Cy Young winner coming out of the bullpen.
Corey Kluber, the club’s Opening Day starter, is being moved out of the rotation with Garrett Whitlock’s return from the injured list, manager Alex Cora said on WEEI Wednesday.
Kluber, 37, was originally slated to make another start after struggling in San Diego on May 21.
The two-time Cy Young winner, who pitched for the Yankees in 2021 and the Rays last season, was roughed up for five runs in 2 ⅓ innings, though only one of them was earned.
But the plan changed.
“Well, we were waiting for Tanner [Houck] to see how he felt after his start,” Cora told WEEI. “We’re going to make a change. Actually, Tanner is going to start on Sunday and Corey is going to go to the bullpen, starting on Friday.”
Houck, who pitched Monday against the Angels, turned in six innings of one-run ball.
That was enough to displace Kluber from the rotation.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora takes the ball from Corey Kluber, who will be moving to the Red Sox bullpen. APKluber, who has a 6.26 ERA, signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Red Sox during the offseason but has struggled from the outset.
Cora also recently moved Nick Pivetta to the bullpen to accommodate James Paxton’s return, meaning the rotation now consists of Paxton, Whitlock, Houck, Chris Sale and Brayan Bello.
“We had that conversation with Corey and [he’s] very professional. He understands,” Cora said. “He signed here to be a starter but right now he’s struggling and obviously the kids are throwing the ball well. There’s a lot of off-days coming up. So we decided to make the change.”
Kluber’s control has been an issue, as he’s walked nearly four batters per nine innings while giving up over a hit per inning.
He has not made a regular season appearance out of the bullpen since 2013, though he did so last postseason with the Rays.
Corey Kluber owns a 6.26 ERA with the Red Sox this season.Getty Images “Well, we’ve been doing it for the last two or three years, having starters in the bullpen, and some guys we use more aggressively,” Cora said. “Others we’ve got to be patient, and the case with Corey, I think he came out of the bullpen last year in the playoffs, but he hasn’t done it throughout his career.
“We’ve just got to make sure we give him enough time to be ready and see when we are going to use him. Obviously, we want him to get back on track and back on track is throwing strikes, and this is something he’s done throughout his career. He hasn’t done it the first month-and-a-half [this] season. The stuff is … very similar to last year, but obviously the control and the command wasn’t there and we just got to make sure we keep making adjustments.”
