CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians made a significant addition to their organization this week that won’t appear in any box score but could pay enormous dividends throughout their pitching staff.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber has officially rejoined the organization as a special pitching assistant, bringing his wealth of experience and quiet wisdom back to Progressive Field.
“One of the things that could help and could contribute to the rotation sort of taking another step forward is the presence of Corey Kluber,” host Joe Noga explained on the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast.
For Cleveland’s promising young rotation featuring Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Logan Allen, having access to Kluber’s expertise represents an invaluable resource. Few pitchers understand the journey from unheralded prospect to ace better than Kluber, who transformed himself from a middling minor leaguer into one of the most dominant pitchers of his generation.
“Who wouldn’t want to take some advice from a two time Cy Young winner and a guy that just really kind of reached his peak during his stay in Cleveland,” host Paul Hoynes remarked on the podcast.
What makes Kluber’s presence particularly valuable is the breadth of his experiences. His path wasn’t that of a highly-touted prospect who cruised to stardom. Instead, he worked tirelessly to develop his arsenal and approach, eventually becoming the franchise’s most decorated pitcher in recent history.
“He offers such a vast array of experience. I think he can relate to the players,” Hoynes elaborated. “This was a guy that wasn’t really a high prospect … kind of a self made guy… really became one of the more successful pitchers in Cleveland history that we’ve seen recently… This is a guy that, you know, pitched deep into the postseason… knows what it’s like to pitch game seven of the World Series. He’s got a lot of knowledge and a current pitcher on this staff would have to be silly not to listen to him.”
Kluber’s impact may already be manifesting on the field. During the Guardians’ recent six-game homestand, their starting pitchers posted a remarkable 1.13 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 32 innings against quality lineups from Philadelphia and Milwaukee. The rotation recorded three shutouts during that span, showing the kind of dominance that defined Kluber’s peak years.
Perhaps most importantly, Kluber’s credibility with younger pitchers comes not just from his accomplishments, but from his own development journey.
“He said ‘I wasn’t a very good minor leaguer’ … the majority of his final development happened at the major league level,” Noga shared from his conversation with Kluber. “And that’s something that I think a lot of those guys that he talked to … it means a lot coming from a guy who has two Cy Youngs in his trophy case.”
Pitching coach Carl Willis described the arrangement as “a perfect fit” – a full-circle moment that allows Kluber to give back to the organization where he established his legacy.
While Kluber maintains his trademark quiet demeanor (Noga joked that reporters still have to “lean in a little closer” during interviews), his words carry tremendous weight. As the Guardians’ rotation continues to develop, having Kluber’s guidance could prove to be one of the organization’s smartest moves of 2024.
Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions.
Podcast transcript
Joe Noga 0:06Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynes. The Guardians dropped the finale of their home stand of their three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers. After holding the Brewers scoreless through the first two games of the series, they give up nine runs in the finale, including.Seven of them after the 6th inning. Gavin Williams,. You know, a nice outing, but didn’t get very deep into the game because his pitch count got driven up a little high. They lose the game 9 to 5 and you know, come out of the home stand at 4:00 and 2:00.Just your thoughts on the finale there against the Brewers on Wednesday.
Paul Hoynes 0:49Yeah, Joe, I thought Williams did OK. I would have liked to seen him get into the 6th inning. What he goes, he gives up two runs, 5, 4 hits, 5 innings, 1 walk, 6 KS. So,. But I think it was still, you know,. He’s moving in the right direction, unfortunately.
Joe Noga 0:57S.
Paul Hoynes 1:09You know, we we saw kind of the underside of the bullpen, maybe with the exception of Aaron and they got knocked around and they really never had, you know, kind of were in control of that game where they could go to the, you know, to the side of the pen that Vogt uses when he when he’s ahead and they kind of paid a price there.Hoskins, had, you know,. He was off the charts last yesterday, 4 for four, 5 RBIs. But you know,. I still thought it was a decent,. It was a fun game to watch with competitive game. Jose Ramirez continues to be hot and almost brought him back.
Joe Noga 1:46Yeah, they, you know, the Guardians are pretty good at scoring runs late in games as well, especially this month in May. They’ve scored bunches of runs in in the late innings and Jose Ramirez gave him sort of a shot there with a three run home run, his eighth of the season. And you know, we can talk.And a little bit more about the run that Jose has been on just lately over the last 910 games. But you know you thought that they had a chance to, to, to maybe close the gap and and come back the the bullpen., You’re right there., There weren’t exactly the the guys out there that you want to pitch when you you have a lead.And you’ve got to give him an opportunity to win. Jacob Junus, I think 3 consecutive hits. Just it seemed like there was single after, you know, double, single RBI. And then he hit a batter with the bases loaded to to to drive in a run that that really hurt things so.And then Zach Kent giving up the the, the Tour and home run. He’s back up on the roster after Ben Lively went on the injured list. And you know, since we last spoke, that was confirmed lively to the injured list. And you know, it’s going to throw the the rotation into a bit of a question.For the weekend, as they head to Cincinnati. So yeah, you know, a fun game like you said, but a lot of questions, certainly to be answered afterwards, as we as we move forward., Let’s talk about Ben Lively and you know, Stephen Vogt said prior to Wednesday’s game, you know the.Reports weren’t as bad as they could have been. They’re still sending him for, you know, a second opinion to get looked at a little bit more. It is a right flexor tendon strain in that forearm and and you know, vote admitted. Those are the kinds of things that, you know, can and historically have.Led to concerns about maybe Tommy John surgery., This is something that, you know, Ben Lively, he’s he’s always such a positive guy. It’s always such a great presence in the in the clubhouse. This is going to be tough to to deal with for him as as they move forward. They don’t know. They don’t have a timetable. Right now.As to when he can get back to sort of working through things, but for right now he’s on the injured list and there’s an open spot in the rotation.
Paul Hoynes 4:11Yeah., When you think of Ben Lively, you know the what we saw from him last year, Joe, and what we’ve seen from him this year through his nine starts, this year, you know, you think of consistency, you think of a guy that’s going to give a go out there and give you 5 to 6.Innings every time out, quality innings. He’s going to keep you in the game. He’s going to give you a chance to win. He’s, you know, he’s a big part of that rotation, and now we have to see who they replace him with. The front office worked hard this winter trying to build depth in the bullpen and the rotation.And we’re going to get a look at how the, you know, the results of that work. Because this sounds to me, Joe, unless somebody comes up here and just really grabs that spot, we might see a bunch of pictures circulating through the through the empty spot created by Lively’s injury.
Joe Noga 5:04Yeah, it could become a a revolving door and and that’s, you know, that might give opportunities to some young guys and it might also test that depth that you you talked about one of the one of the sort of centerpieces of that depth building from the off-season acquired in the Josh Naylor trade in December was Slade Saconi.Picked up from the Arizona Diamondbacks and you know for right from the beginning they were intent on. This was a guy who could have been a swing guy between, you know, bullpen and long relief and and and starting in the rotation and right from the beginning kind of to to the the surprise of a lot of us, they they had him.Start.Starting out as a a starter, and since his injury and spring training and and his rehab, he’s been starting in Columbus. Now it looks like he’s the guy who will be in the rotation, at least starting one of the games either Saturday or Sunday. Right now. Those games are TBD.According to the the Guardians baseball information folks, but at least one of those games will be a Luis Ortiz start and one of them will be a Slade Sacconi start because they had both pitched last on Sunday. So just you know, your thoughts on on Slade Sacconi after.Enduring the oblique injury and spring training, you know, sort of having a chance to maybe build up a little bit in Columbus and now sort of being pressed into action, maybe a little bit earlier than the Guardians would have wanted.
Paul Hoynes 6:36Yeah, Joe, I mean, you know, Sacony pulled a oblique muscle in spring. Training. I I talked to him a couple times, you know, after he broke from camp and he was, you know, training or working out with the Big League club in Cleveland. And he said I never thought an oblique injury would take this long to heal.But you know, they took their time with him. They got him right. He’s made three starts at Columbus. You know, Carl Willis was talking about him, said he the fastball looked good. And I think it’s going to be, you. Know,. Let’s see what he’s got. You know, he did,. He did not pitch particularly well.With the the Diamondbacks last year as a starter and a reliever., So he has something to prove Joe. And they obviously they they sent Josh Naylor to Arizona for him., So now they’re going to get a look at what they got in return this weekend, either Saturday or Sunday, so.Let’s see what he can, can or can’t do and and where it takes and where it takes his rotation from there.
Joe Noga 7:42Yeah, the nice thing, you know, even not knowing what you’re going to get from Sacconi coming up, it’s going to be OK just based on the recent history of this rotation, which over this six game homestand posted a 1.13 ERA, only gave up four.Earned runs in 32 innings and held opposing hitters to a 184 batting average with 33 strikeouts in in those six games. And. And we’re not talking about, you know, the the the bottom of the league here, sort of opponents. It was against the Phillies offense.And against the the Brewers offense, those are those are two pretty decent lineups with some some hitters who can really hurt you and and the Guardian starters did the job in all six of those games really just it. So Saccone is going to be stepping into a situation where, you know, even if he has an off day.The rest of the guys in that rotation are still, you know, pretty solid and it shouldn’t hurt Cleveland as much as they venture out on this 10 game Rd. trip.
Paul Hoynes 8:51Yeah, they had three shutouts in that in that in his past home stand, Joe. They shut out Philly. They shut out Milwaukee in consecutive games. They’re pitching very well, and hopefully they’re able to overcome Lively’s injury. You know, Saconi or somebody else steps into that.That roll and keeps the train moving.
Joe Noga 9:14Yeah, it’s it. It would be nice if if he just sort of hit the ground running and plugged right in., But they can, they can afford maybe to give him a game or two to get get settled. In. One of the things that that could help and and could contribute to, you know the the the rotation sort of taking another step forward.Is the the presence of Corey Kluber, who was officially announced as a an addition to the coaching staff, the the Major League staff as a special assistant comma pitching.? I guess it’s a a good way of of saying hey, this is a a guy who’s been there, done that and and knows.Everything. So use him as a resource. And I think that’s what guys like Gavin Williams,. Guys like Tanner Bybee, the young pitchers and Logan Allen, the the young pitchers in the rotation are going to, you know, sort of turn to Kluber and and use him sort of as as a resource.
Paul Hoynes 10:11Yeah, this is a, you know, a role that the Guardians like to fill, you know, with, you know, former big league players. They’ve done it in the past. Terry Francona was a special assistant. Buddy. Black was a special assistant. Tom Candiotti, the same., And you know, Travis.Hafner and and Travis Fryman are still special assistants with the ball club, and you know, they they they help the team in various, you know, roles. And with Kluber, obviously, he’s going to be working with the pitching staff. The mainly, it sounds like the starting staff, Joe. And who wouldn’t want to take some advice.From a two-time Cy Young winner and a guy that just, you know, really kind of reached his peak during his stay in Cleveland.
Joe Noga 11:00Yeah, and and Kluber himself, you know, he told us. He’s not here to sort of take anything away from Carl Willis or the the starting or or the the pitching group and the coaches that they already have in place. He just sort of wants to be more of a resource for the guys in the rotation. And Stephen Vogt said not just.The Big league guys, but up and down through the throughout the organization, you know, they’ve got guys at AAA at the high levels, you know, AA and high A that that can sort of seek Kluber out and and and ask for advice and. And, you know, maybe work on their routines and what worked for him.And it it’s just it. It seems like a no-brainer. If you’re the Guardians to to sort of bring in a guy like Kluber. If he wants to be here. And and that’s what he said., He said, you know, a year, a year of retirement and, you know, he was back at Progressive Field throwing out first pitches in the in the postseason and.I think opening day, he and Brantley were there last year. So you know, this is a guy who was away for a year, did a podcast, but then realized, yeah, I I kind of still want to be connected. And this was a a way that that he figured it’s a good,. You know, foot in the door entry way to to to being back with the baseball.
Paul Hoynes 12:19Yeah, Joe. And he offers such a, you know, a vast array of experience. I think if he can relate to the players, you know, he’s only, what, a couple years removed from the field. You know, this was a guy that wasn’t really a high prospect, was buried in San Diego’s farm system, before.Cleveland traded for him is a guy that you know, kind of a self-made guy. He listened to his coaches. Ruben Niebla, who is now the San Diego pitching coach, worked tirelessly, tirelessly with him to develop his pitches, to give him a new pitch. Kluber took it and ran and and got to the big leagues.And and really became one of the more successful pitchers in Cleveland history that we’ve seen recently. You know, with four or five, 6 year run where he not only won two Cy Youngs, but he finished third. I think he finished fourth. I mean, he was a Cy Young, a perennial Cy Young contender. He won 20 games.I think he’s the last Cleveland pitcher to win 20 games. This is a guy that, you know, pitched deep into the postseason that, you know, showed how to pitch on short rest in the postseason that knows what it’s like to pitch game seven of the World Series. So there’s a he’s a he’s got a lot of knowledge.And a picture, a current picture on this staff would have to be silly not to listen to him.
Joe Noga 13:41Yeah. The one thing that that, that that hasn’t improved over time with the with Kluber is the volume of his interviews. I I think we all had to we all had to sort of lean in a little closer to to to pick up audio as as we were talking to him there at Progressive Field the other day and you know it was it was funny to me. One of the things that stood out was you know he said.I wasn’t a very good minor leaguer. You know, he said. The the the majority of his like finishing development there happened at the Major League level. And that’s something that I think a lot of those guys that that he talked to, you know, watching him come in from the bullpen, talking to Gavin Williams, sitting there during a game talking to Tanner Bybee.It means a lot coming from a guy who has two Cyungs in his trophy case. If you’re sitting there and and he’s sort of gassing you up, he’s sort of giving you that that confidence. It just hits a little different than if the coaches are saying things that that, you know, these guys can can take it and run with it at the.It’s going to be a a good boost and and maybe we’ll see as as they have. I mean this whole home stand, he’s been here, you know, this whole week and and the look at what the starting pitchers did that you can’t you can’t argue with those results. So yeah, it’s a big step, big announcement for the Guardians.Yesterday, when they announced Kluber as an addition to the the starting the coaching staff.
Paul Hoynes 15:08Joe, I mean, just one more thing., Carl Willis said. It’s a perfect fit., You know, Willis managed. I mean, he coached Kluber, helped him win a Cy Young, and now Kluber is coming back and kind of giving back to the game. So it really kind of a nice kind of full circle moment.
Joe Noga 15:28Yeah, one of Kluber’s, actually two of Kluber’s teammates from those those great Division championship winning, you know, World Series teams., And you know, from a few years ago, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana, still with the club, still doing the job.As as they were when, when they played alongside Kluber, Hosey, just a a monster stretch for him recently, over the last what, 910 games extended his hit streak to 9 games.With that home run yesterday, during that stretch, he’s hitting 406, 3, double S, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, S, 4 steals, and a 1294 OPS. He’s been on base in 13 straight games, and that’s his longest on base streak since September of of last year.It just, you know, Jose getting hot at the plate is always a good thing. Carlos Santana pinch hit yesterday and drew his 1300 walk in the 8th inning. He’s the 7th switch hitter to achieve that many walks in his career, 49th overall.And you know about 900 of those walks have come with, I think 901 or or something have come with Cleveland. Just a a testament to his patience and his approach over a 16 year career. But you know those two guys having a, you know an outstanding run.Here, particularly in the month of May, watching Jose and Carlos sort of go at it at the plate.
Paul Hoynes 17:11Yo, how far do you think? How many feet do you think Santana has covered in in 1300? Walks?.
Joe Noga 17:18Well, Hoinsey,. I’m no math genius, but apparently if you do the conversions, he’s walked more than 22 miles in his Major League career on bases on balls. So 1300 walks equal about 22.15 miles.Just walking from home plate to first base in his Major League Career,. That’s pretty good. I haven’t walked 22 miles in in in a in a year, so it’s, you know, pretty significant. For for Carlos Santana.
Paul Hoynes 19:02Oh, that makes me tired just thinking about it. 22 miles and 90 feet at a time. I don’t know, man. Carlos is going to have to get some oxygen at first. Base, waiting for him, depending on how long he plays.
Joe Noga 19:12Are you kidding me? That guy’s in the he’s in the best shape of his career, right? Now.? He told you it’s spring training. He’s he’s running like a Jack rabbit. It’s it’s it’s. It’s really impressive what he’s been able to do. So, you know, I got a great job by Carlos Santana more than 22 miles in in his career just walking from home plate. To.
Paul Hoynes 19:18That’s right.
Joe Noga 19:33Base because he’s got a good eye at the plate. Fantastic. More than 22 miles on this upcoming 10 game Rd. trip, which starts in Cincinnati. Then they go to Minnesota and Detroit for four big games. Next week. You sort of start off in Cincinnati with the the emotional factor with.With Terry Francona being the manager across the diamond there for the first time in a game, that means anything and and then you know, you finish it up with the the emotion and the the fact that the the Tigers are 3 1/2 games up in the the division right now. And and last year’s.Playoff opponent. It should make for a fun 10 game stretch for the Guardians.
Paul Hoynes 20:18Yeah, this is really,. This is going to be a great test, Joe. The Reds under Terry Francona are struggling, but I’m sure they’re going to be a little extra motivated when Cleveland comes to, you know, Cincinnati this weekend. You know, Frank Terry did. I mean, Tito didn’t meet. Remember Tito?.When the first time they the two teams met in spring training, Tito went with the Split squad team to to Phoenix for a game against Milwaukee. Rather than manage the club against Cleveland at at Goodyear Ballpark because he didn’t want to turn it into a a hug fest. That’s what he said.You know, this is, he said. This is about the ball, club. This is this isn’t about me,. But now he’s got no choice., So it’s gonna be interesting to see how this unfolds.
Joe Noga 20:59What?.Yeah, OK, but but wouldn’t. Wouldn’t doing it in spring training have been the better place to to do something like that?. Make it a hug fest in Arizona where the game doesn’t matter and people aren’t paying attention, and then you don’t have to do it when you get to to Cincinnati and the game actually means something. I don’t understand that logic and this is like.Psychological warfare. This is Tito knows what he’s doing. He intentionally stayed away and and now you know it’s he wants to. He wants to live inside their heads basically. And and that’s what’s going to happen over the weekend. I guarantee it. So it should be interesting. You know, The funny thing, is.And and we’ve sort of noticed this pattern in in talking to Stephen Vogt, in, you know, it’s not like he’s he’s being a jerk about anything or anything like that., But when you bring up Terry Francona and you know, you talk about, you talk to him about, oh, your predecessor did this or anything like that.You know,. He’s very matter-of-fact about things. He doesn’t. He doesn’t want to get into the whole, yeah, you’re replacing the the franchise leader in in managerial wins. Vote’s not sort of taking the bait on any of that. Over the last two years of talking to him.I think, you know, we’re going to see a lot more of that over this weekend. Just anybody and the reporters are going to want to ask him about managing against Tito and he’s not going to want to answer.
Paul Hoynes 22:36Yeah, you know, I thought last year he was, you know,. He gave Tito the the respect he deserved. He knew he was replacing one of the best managers in his in,. You know, recent history. You know,. He tipped his hat to Him,. Said he he had talked to Tito,. You know, a couple of times during a transition. So I think that went.Well, and you know, then you know, Tito, you know, took the to the took the Reds job to the surprise of many. And so, you know, I think it’s it’s going to be, you know, just makes for an interesting another interesting dynamic. You know that’s off the field kind of off the field in the dugouts instead of on the field but right now.Joe, the the Reds are struggling., They’ve lost nine of their last 11 games and they were, you know, they lost. They’ve lost two straight to the White Sox. So Tito’s got more than enough problems on his hands, right, now.?
Joe Noga 23:28Yeah, it it’s, you know, both Vote and Francona want to win and they want to win, not just because of the other guy in the dugout across the field, but you know, they they know that they have to keep winning. And right now, Tito’s team is is struggling to do that. So.We’ll keep an eye on that series. We’ll talk more about it when we get back on the other side of the weekend here with the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. But for now, it’s going to wrap up. Today’s edition and Hoyneszu,. We’ll talk to you from Minnes. I actually on Monday, when we’re in Minnesota, we’ll talk.To then.
Paul Hoynes 24:08Good deal, Joe.