The Red Sox did not pony up to keep Nathan Eovaldi, and now they’re hoping a former Cy Young winner still has enough left in the tank.
A day after Eovaldi agreed to a two-year, $34 million contract with the Rangers, Boston agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract with Corey Kluber on Wednesday, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed. The deal includes a 2024 option worth $11 million plus incentives.
Kluber, who turns 37 on April 10, made 31 starts for the Rays last season, pitching to a 4.34 ERA with 139 strikeouts in 164 innings. He made 16 starts for the Yankees in 2021, notching 82 strikeouts in 80 innings with a 3.83 ERA; he pitched a no-hitter against the Rangers that season.
A two-time Cy Young winner and three-time All-Star during his nine seasons in Cleveland, Kluber was limited to seven starts in 2019 and one start in 2020 (with the Rangers) due to injuries. That followed a dominant five-year run from 2014-18, in which he eclipsed 203 innings and 222 strikeouts in each season.
Eovaldi, 32, spent the last four-plus seasons with the Red Sox. He had a 3.87 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 109 ⅓ innings in 2022.
The Red Sox have been under scrutiny this offseason, particularly with regard to not paying up to keep star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who signed an 11-year, $280 million contract with the Padres.
They did sign Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract, which included a $15.4 million posting fee, but baseball evaluators polled by ESPN indicated that the Red Sox overpaid for Yoshida.
Boston has also signed closer Kenley Jansen to a two-year, $32 million contract, reliever Chris Martin to a two-year, $17.5 million deal, and veteran infielder Justin Turner to a two-year, $22 million deal. Slugger J.D. Martinez left to take a one-year, $10 million deal with the Dodgers.
Teams have also been reaching out to Boston inquiring about oft-injured ace Chris Sale, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported this week.