Phillies

Report: Phillies Interested in Two-Time Cy Young Award Winner Corey Kluber

By Russ Joy

Published: Dec 26th, 2018 · 5:48 PM EST

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The Phillies have been mentioned multiple times in the last week plus as one of many teams with interest in acquiring two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber from the Cleveland Indians. The interest in Kluber makes plenty of sense, as he went 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA/3.12 FIP/0.991 WHIP in 215 innings. Jon Morosi of MLB Network and Fox Sports has been beating the drum regarding a Kluber trade:

Sources: #Indians trade talks involving Corey Kluber have continued this week. The Cleveland front office is very thorough. #Dodgers, #Brewers, #Phillies, #Reds among the teams that have shown interest. @MLB @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 19, 2018

Today, Morosi dropped this nugget, which should drum up a bit of interest in a thus far underwhelming Phillies offseason:

Corey Kluber trade talks are most intense with NL clubs now, sources say. #Padres, #Dodgers, #Phillies, #Brewers, #Reds involved to varying degrees. @MLBNetwork @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 26, 2018

I know, this is nothing more than pure speculation that the Phillies are interested/involved in discussions for Kluber – far from a report of intensifying talks in an exclusive capacity – but it’s a somewhat encouraging sign for a team that’s yet to spend “stupid money”. It would appear that both the Padres and Dodgers could be in the lead for Kluber, but this is interesting:

Key question in Corey Kluber talks: Do #Indians prefer Manuel Margot, 24, from #Padres or Alex Verdugo, 22, from #Dodgers? If Cleveland trades its ace, the front office would like to address center field in the process. @MLBNetwork @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 26, 2018

If you’re the Phillies, does building a package around top prospect Sixto Sánchez make sense along with a center fielder like Roman Quinn or Odúbel Hererra? It would likely take a bit more to acquire the multiple Cy Young winner. However, if you’re the Phillies, I’m not so sure you could sell a 2019 team devoid of Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, and any other number of high-profile guys the team’s been rumored to be in pursuit of.