With Nathan Eovaldi having just signed with the Texas Rangers, the Boston Red Sox were likely ready to snap up a rotation replacement.
Corey Kluber to the Red Sox:
Kluber, 36, has settled into something of a junk-balling innings-eater the last couple years, and there’s certainly value there for most teams. The Cubs had previously been tied to Kluber, but after the Jameson Taillon signing and now the Drew Smyly re-signing, it was very unlikely that the Cubs were looking to sign another starting pitcher for real money.
The addition of Kluber could get folks talking about those rumors on the Red Sox listening to offers for Chris Sale, but I’m not sure there’s a relationship there. I tend to think moving Sale would be more about opening up payroll to work on the Rafael Devers extension, rather than feeling like the rotation was suddenly too crowded.
But, hey, if the Red Sox want to talk to a team about a Sale/Devers combo trade, I’m sure the Cubs would listen …
UPDATE: The terms, which sound about right: