Former Cy Young Award Contenders Who Look Cooked In 2023

Chris Klemmer4/25/2023 7:30 PM

Mike Ehrmann. Getty Images.

Watching Clayton Kershaw this season, it seems like he can do it forever. He's been in the majors for 16 seasons and last week alone, he beat the Mets and Cubs and gave up a total of one earned run. I know the days of him making 30 starts a season are long gone and his stuff isn't what it was. But, he's still one of the best pitchers in baseball every time he's on the mound. He's made over 400 starts, has a career ERA of 2.48 and has even lowered it this season.

Not every pitcher is as lucky.

There have been a number of formerly very good pitchers that aren't just average this season. They've looked awful. I'm talking last season of Parks and Rec bad.

It happens to the very best in the game. Steve Carlton went 15-29 with a 5.72 ERA in his last three seasons. Bob Gibson had a 5.04 ERA in is final year. None of the guys on this list are at that level of greatness but they might have even more stunning end of careers.

Corey Kluber, Boston Red Sox

Cy Young Award Winner (2014, 17), All-Star (2016-18)

2023: 0-4, 8.50 ERA (6 home runs in 18 innings)

The Kluber Fall has been going on for awhile. He hasn't been the same since fracturing his arm in 2019. There has been a series of injuries since then like abdominal and shoulder tightness. He did throw a no-hitter for the Yankees in 2021 but then had a shoulder strain shortly after that. He did pitch a full season with the Rays last year but was ordinary at best.

The Red Sox were desperate to replace Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha in the off-season. They wound up settling for Kluber and gave him $10 million. His once great control seems to have vanished. He already has 8 walks in 18 innings. Maybe the control can come back but he has also given up 6 home runs already and he's 37 years old.

Kluber faces the Orioles tonight. The Red Sox rotation is a total mess so maybe they'll keep trotting him out there but the leash has to be getting awfully short in Boston for him.

Carlos Carrasco, New York Mets

4th in Cy Young voting (2017), Led AL in Wins (2017)

2023: 0-2, 8.56 ERA (8 walks, 3 HBP in 13 2/3 IP)

Mike Stobe. Getty Images.

That's not a list you want to be on. Carrasco seems like a good guy who has an amazing story of beating leukemia. He's one of the biggest philanthropists in baseball and won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2019. All of those things are very admirable. He's also had a horrible start to his season.

In Carrasco's defense, he may be more hurt than washed up. Then again, both things can also be true.

I think there is a good chance we've already seen Carrasco in a Mets uniform for the last time. His contract is up at the end of the season and he's 36. He was an arm they were really counting on this season to provide innings in that rotation and with Verlander hurt and Scherzer suspended, he would be more important than ever for the Mets. This is another domino in Correa not signing with the Mets. Rumors were swirling that the Mets were going to try to trade Carrasco for some salary relief if that signing was ever finalized.

Lance Lynn, Chicago White Sox

All-Star (2012, 2021), Top 6 in AL Cy Young Voting (2019-21)

2023: 0-3, 7.52 ERA (34 hits, 13 walks in 26 1/3 IP)

It's easy to overlook Lynn but he was one of the best pitchers in the American League from 2019-21 going 33-20 with a 3.26 ERA in that span. Even last year, he did take a step back but still had an ERA under 4. This year, it seems like he got old overnight.

Is Lynn's struggles related to the pitch clock? Marty Mush has speculated that heavier pitchers are having a hard time pitching in rushed situations. Lynn has his listed weight of 275 so he certainly qualifies. He'll be 36 next month but out of everyone on this list, he's the one that I think has the best chance of bouncing back if only because his track record leading up to this season has been strong. The White Sox do hold a club option for Lynn for next year for $18 million. Despite his last few years, I think he might have a better chance of being DFA'd before the season is over than that option getting picked up.

Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

All-Star (2012-18), Top 6 in AL Cy Young Voting (2012-18)

2023: 1-2, 8.22 ERA (30 hits, 10 walks in 23 innings)

This is the saddest case on this list. Sale was off to a Hall of Fame career before everything got derailed after the 2018 season. He's only made 16 starts since the pandemic started. I've written a bunch about him already. It's a sad ending to a great career. Despite a better offense than I would have expected to begin the season, Kluber and Sale have been killing the Red Sox. At least Kluber will be gone next year. Sale is signed for next year at $27.5 million.

His start last night inspired this blog. He didn't get a single strikeout and gave up a hit to everyone in the Orioles lineup. This is a guy that struck out 308 in 2017. That's the 50th most all-time by anyone in one year. He's 73rd all-time in strikeouts for an entire career. If he could have strung together two or three more seasons like he pitched in 2012-18, that might have been enough for Cooperstown. As it stands, he only has 114 career wins. That's Hall of the Very Good material.

Madison Bumgarner, Free Agent

All-Star (2013-16), Top 6 in NL Cy Young (2014-16), 2014 NLCS MVP, 2014 World Series MVP

2023: 0-3, 10.26 ERA, 2.40 WHIP

Michael Reaves. Getty Images.

Bumgarner's time in Arizona has never been good (15-32, 5.23 ERA) but the start this season cost him his job. He was lousy in 2021-22 but at least he could eat up innings. If he could at least pitch that well, he could have value to some teams (Oakland? Kansas City?). Along with Sale, he's another guy that was probably 2-3 years away from Cooperstown. He doesn't have the regular season resume but that post-season excellence deserves a look. I just don't think 134 career wins is enough to get in.

I'm also not certain any team will give him much of a look. If you look the chart I posted under Carrasco for biggest loss in fastball velocity, Bumgarner appears on that list as well. He's only 33 but al those innings in October seem to have taken a major toll.

You could make a case Blake Snell deserves to be on this list as well but he's only 30 and been so wildly inconsistent throughout his career, I can't write him off yet. But as someone pitching for a team that spent a shitload of money for a playoff spot, he better turn it around quickly.

Other than Snell, Sale will get the longest leash of anyone on this list. The commitment to him for next year will ensure that. But if these ERA's are still in the 7-8 neighborhood, at some point you have the pull the band-aid off. The good news is the end rarely effects the legacy. Look at Steve Carlton. He'll always look weird as a Twin. One day, we'll feel the same way about Chris Sale beating up a Gatorade cooler or Bumgarner as a D-Back.