By Jordan Long
The Minnesota Twins stand at 38-38, first place in the American League Central. It is the only division where the leader is .500. The Twins though want to not only win the division but make noise in the playoffs. They think they have upgraded their pitching, agreeing to a minor league contract with Dallas Keuchel.
Keuchel brings plenty of MLB experience to the organization. He has pitched at the MLB for 11 years. His overall record is 101-91 with an ERA of 3.98.
Keuchel started his MLB career with the Houston Astros lasting from 2012 to 2018. While he was with Houston, he went 76-63 with an ERA of 3.66. Keuchel had a career-best 20 wins in 2015 which earned him the CY Young Award. He even helped the Astros win the World Series in 2017. During that run, Keuchel went 2-2 with an ERA of 3.58 ERA.
Following the 2018 season, Keuchel signed with the Atlanta Braves. It was a one-year $13 million contract and a chance for him to show he could still be a top pitcher. It didn’t work out as he went 8-8 with an ERA of 3.75.
On December 30th, 2019, the Chicago White Sox thought Keuchel would improve their starting pitching. They gave him a three-year, $55.5 million contract. In his time with the White Sox, he went 17-16 with an ERA of 4.79. The White Sox designated him for assignment on May 28th, basically cutting him. Keuchel’s record at the time was 2-5 with an ERA of 7.88.
Keuchel wasn’t out of work long. Arizona thought Keuchel would be a good fit. They agreed to a minor league deal with him on June 6th, 2022. It didn’t last. Keuchel pitched 18.2 innings for Arizona. His record was 0-2 with an ERA of 9.64. Arizona released him on July 20, 2022 but it was not his final stop last year. The Texas Rangers gave him a chance on July 25th. He pitched in 2 games for the Rangers and was 0-2 with an ERA of 12.60. The Rangers didn’t even let him finish the year with the ball club. They let him go on September 4, 2022.
This year, Keuchel was waiting for another opportunity to pitch at the MLB level. The Twins are taking a chance on him. According to ESPN.com, Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli said, “We’re glad to have him in the organization and to give him an opportunity to go out there and pitch and show all the things that he’s been working on.”
Keuchel won’t begin with the Twins but with the St. Paul Saints which is the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins. Keuchel will work on his pitching. After that, he should be called up. Keuchel wants to be part of a winning team. He needs to show that the last few years were a fluke. The best case is this works out for the Twins and they go deep in the postseason. On the other hand, it is possible Keuchel doesn’t improve from the last few years and the Twins have to cut him. It is a risk for the Twins but hopefully, it works out.
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