ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Kluber hardly appeared to break a sweat during his dominating performance Wednesday night, when he no-hit the Rangers in a 2-0 Yankees win at Globe Life Field.
It was similar to the form Kluber showed during his January workout that convinced the Yankees to sign the right-hander to a one-year, $11 million deal as a main part of their rebuilt rotation.
Longtime pro scout Marc DelPiano was there for the Yankees and was among the voices who recommended the signing, as the club needed to replace Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and James Paxton, as well as fill a hole until the return of Luis Severino from Tommy John rehab, which is expected sometime this summer.
On Wednesday night, DelPiano was scouting a minor league game in Pensacola, Fla., and followed Kluber’s historic night mostly on his phone. But he got back to his hotel room in time for the ninth inning.
Corey Kluber’s offseason workout convinced Yankees scouts. Getty Images“I saw a guy that can really pitch around swings and pitch to a scouting report,’’ DelPiano said of his impressions of Kluber’s final inning.
That’s what he witnessed on Jan. 13, as well, when he was joined by fellow Yankee scout and former major leaguer Tyler Greene, at the showcase run by the team’s director of health and performance, Eric Cressey in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
They were on hand, in part, to see how Kluber had recovered from back-to-back injury-plagued seasons. In 2019, he fractured his right forearm when he was hit by a comebacker. And last year, he pitched just one inning after being traded to the Rangers before a shoulder strain ended his season.
DelPiano watched to see whether Kluber appeared to be favoring anything at any point of his throwing session.
“I wanted to see if he was able to stay within his delivery,’’ DelPiano said. “He was effortless when he played catch, threw on flat ground and on the mound. It came out easy. Everything was fluid and he was able to hit his spots with all his pitches.”
And he believed the fact Kluber pitched just one inning might have even provided a benefit.
“I looked at that as a chance for him to reset his body,’’ DelPiano said. “He’s pitched a long time and grinded through a lot of innings, so to give his body a chance to rest was a good thing.”
After struggling with his command through some of the spring and his first four outings of the regular season — when he walked 11 batters and had a 5.40 ERA in 15 innings — the 35-year-old Kluber has at least resembled the pitcher who was among the best in the game during his seasons in Cleveland.
Including Wednesday’s outing, Kluber is 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in 35 ¹/₃ innings during the recent five-start stretch, all Yankees wins. And he’s walked just nine and struck out 36.
“There are a lot of ‘miss’ guys in this game,’’ DelPiano said of the amount of hitters that don’t make contact much. “He’s a guy who can exploit that. He can pitch above and below the launch angle. He’s not just a thrower.”
DelPiano credited general manager Brian Cashman for having both scouts — including himself and Greene — at the workout in addition to Cressey, who oversaw much of Kluber’s rehab.
Corey Kluber graced the back page of the New York post on Thursday morning.
“[Cashman] listened to both the scouts and the science,’’ DelPiano said. “[Kluber] is doing what we thought he was capable of doing. I was hoping we’d get him. We all were. He slides into a playoff rotation and gives another legit arm.”
He’s looked the part lately.
“It’s good to see your work validated,’’ DelPiano said.
