July 21: The Diamondbacks have announced their slate of roster moves, with Keuchel being designated for assignment. His active roster spot will go to right-hander Ian Kennedy, who has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. With the open spot on the 40-man roster, righty J.B. Bukauskas has been reinstated from the 60-day IL and optioned to Triple-A.
July 20: The Diamondbacks have designated veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel for assignment, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). The team has not yet formally announced the move.
It’s the second DFA of the season for Keuchel, who was cut loose by the White Sox earlier this year while playing out the third and final season of a three-year, $55.5MM contract. The former AL Cy Young winner posted a pristine 1.99 ERA in 11 starts with the ChiSox during the shortened 2020 season but logged a lackluster 5.28 ERA in 30 starts a year ago before taking another step back in 2022.
Keuchel was rocked for a 7.88 ERA with the Sox, tallying just 32 innings despite making eight starts. The D-backs brought him in on a minor league deal after he cleared waivers and became a free agent, hoping that a reunion with former Astros pitching coach Brent Strom — now the pitching coach in Arizona — might help Keuchel tap into some of his prior success. That, however, hasn’t proven to be the case. Keuchel somewhat remarkably struggled even more with the Snakes, yielding 22 runs (20 earned) in just 18 2/3 frames before today’s DFA.
To Keuchel’s credit, he did post markedly improved strikeout and walk rates in Arizona. After posting identical 12.2% strikeout and walk rates in Chicago — both among the worst marks in the league for starters — he turned in a 20.2% strikeout rate against a 7.9% walk rate with the D-backs. The strikeout rate is still below average, but that walk rate is solid, and Keuchel can still induce grounders at an above-average rate (albeit nowhere near his peak rate when he was perennially among the league leaders).
Whether that’s enough for another club to take a look remains to be seen. Keuchel will be placed on waivers within the week and will surely clear a second time and again become a free agent. He’ll likely settle for a minor league deal wherever he lands next.
Guess it’s take a hike-el, Keuchel.
What’s wild is it seems like he’s been around forever but he still doesn’t even have 10 full years of service time
It’s the beard.
If he agrees with it maybe he can be a lefty specialist out of the pen. He gets grounders but it looks like he tires so maybe its s lefty out the pen or out you go if he doesn’t want that role. What a shame he is just a few years away from winning a championship and one of the reasons they won because he helped. We should of known at that time because astros did not really try harder to resign him. Astros know pitching it looks like they knew something.
I didn’t think he could be worse than he was with the Sox… He outdid himself with the D’Backs.
One pretty decent start where he went 7 innings and got a ton of ground balls but the other starts we’re atrocious
50 innings and somehow managing -2.1 bwar?
Impressive.
Somewhere Chris Davis is celebrating.
A WHIP over 2.000 is not good
“He’s a control pitcher”
Wow didn’t think his season could get worse
Why more to come? He’s toast
He’s toast. I believe he’s got a good future as a BP thrower though……..
Wilson. I must be on the same wavelength with you. Same response at same time.
If he still wants to pitch, he should probably take the rest of the season off and try to come back as a reliever next year…
Teams generally want their relievers to be hard throwers and lefty specialists aren’t really a thing anymore because of the three batter rule. This might be the end of the line for Keuchel
One of my prouder Sox moments
Mk so that didn’t last long wonder what favio is gonna do with the roster spot
Time to hang em up, Dallas
He can go to Japan and still seven figures next year.
Braves may take a flyer on him.
I hope not. *Fingers crossed*
He was horrible with Dbacks…. batting speed stuff.
Also Madbum is almost as bad.
I just saw online that his at-home stats weren’t too so terrible in 2022, but on-the-road stats mightily blew. So… use him only at home as a reliever?
Sounds like something the analytical Twins Front Office might try. Could he be worse than some of their pen arms? Yeah, I guess he could.
Next Mets
Angels!!!!
Everyone in the Angels rotation is better than him. The Angels need hitters more than pitching right now
Come back attempt expected. These guys just cannot bring themselves to retire with grace and dignity.
Well he’s less than 1/2 a season shy of fully vesting his pension (sitting at 38 or 39 of 40 credits). Not that he really needs anymore $ but it’d be dumb to leave it on the table.
Good Point!
awmcap.com/blog/mlb-service-time
he asked for this after pulling that stunt by not signing that one offseason
Farhan Zaidi on Line Two.
Giants just retired this guy, no way they are signing him after watching their dormant offense explode against him
He’s had a weird career and weird salary/contract situation, made some odd bets on himself and although he certainly made plenty of money, I think his career will ultimately be seen as a “what if” and a “why”.
I think he’s done, though. Unless he loves baseball so much he’d rather keep pitching in the minors than to retire- because he is probably done playing at the major league level and making seven or eight figure salaries.
Please do not linger in the minors, I want to remember you as a good player!
I think he is done. However, I thought the same of Verlander. Look how well He has done this year. He is not worth the money he makes,but look at his results.
you must be out of your mind if you think verlander is not worth the $25 million he’s making this year
IN this crazy market YES! But I would never pay anybody 25 million. Just my opinion! Thank you for writing me back!
Washed
Right up the Stl Cardinals alley, same as last year.Can we catch lightning in a bottle.
Vintage Keuchel.
His wife needs to eat some food and stop surgically altering her face. She looks bizarre.
Your opinion, I guess- but how about keeping that one to yourself?
He is a perfect fit for the Nats or A’s.
Finally.
Man, it was painful watching him pitch.
Keuchel needs to get on a cycle if he wants to pitch in the majors again. Does Balco still do mail orders?
After which he immediately told Bob Nightingale that there’s priblems in the clubhouse.
Shave the cruddy beard and go get your mojo back in Korea or Japan. See you back in a couple of years.
Cards should give him a shot. Start him Saturday at Cincy. Give him a few starts and cut bait if it isn’t working. No risk. Doesn’t stop them from making other moves.
Speaking as a Reds fan, I really hope they do.
For the Dbacks, cutting Keuchel loose is the first step in letting young pitching prospects have a tryout in the second half of the season. First up should be Tommy Henry. Second up is Corbin Martin, when Tyler Gilbert is sent back down, or MadBum is traded.
Yankees – just to shave the beard and be released before making an appearance.
Bright side…more time with his fiancée
I hope Cashman doesn’t pick him up just so Hal can get at the beard.
Something left in the tank? Possibly, going to the NPB could be a good idea.
What are the stats on the cutter on Henry? That cutter looks plus and he could work as a closer now with that pitch alone. Corbin Martin has one stuff., always has. Luke Weaver is the biggest enigma on the staff, plus fastball that deceives no one.
I always liked DK. My favorite moment was when he beat NY in 2015 wild card game. That was the moment the Astros became the team that people hate.
Smells like the annual cardinal hot garbage dump signing
Reds are likely losing two rotation pieces soon. Have to add someone.
Keuchel pitching every 5th day in that band box? How many starts before the FO would have security walk him out?
The Reds won’t be signing DK. They passed on him two years ago. Unless he would sign for league minimum, he won’t be joining the Reds. They have a six man rotation now. They will keep running Mike Minor out there until his arm falls off.
Nice.. the advanced stats say he’s not that bad. LOL. Give me a pitcher with a bunch of wins and an era below 3.50 all day long. You can keep your “advanced stats”.
And what advanced stat makes him look like a good pitcher? The 4.73 xFIP? The 4.98 SIERA? Maybe the 5.13 xERA?
And if the advanced stats don’t sufficiently create the illusion that he doesn’t suck, those sabremetricians will start screaming, “SMALL SAMPLE, SMALL SAMPLE!!!!” As if the CWS and AZ front offices are just stupid for not seeing a diamond instead of a hot steaming pile of crap on the mound.
He’s now married to Kelly Nash. DK is probably distracted. (Wink, wink)
Padres could sign him stash him in triple a like they did Cano
When the DBACKS DFA you it’s time to hang them up
I think Dallas is a victim of the sticky stuff situation. They started checking for it around June 20, 2021, and since then, he has been awful. Check his stats /record. That’s all we need to know. He’ll never be successful again, unless he can find something to help him pitch that is undetectable unfortunately..
Oh, I think you’re onto something there. I’m heading into the lab to work on a spider tack that evaporates before the ball hits the catcher’s mitt as well as the throwing hand of the pitcher. That’s a $5.5M idea with a mutual option for $9M in 2024. I’m on it.
Nah. Why would you suspect a former ASTRO of attempting to skirt the rules
Who’s next to be koo-koo for Keuchel?
It’s amazing to think this guy was elite just two years ago. Now a bWAR below -2 and WHIP above 2, that’s quite a collapse
The Pirates will pick him up in the off season on a 1 year 3.5 million deal, and see if he can be flipped at the trade deadline. They try to do it nearly every year with a lefty.
I get that’s what they’ve done with Tyler Anderson and likely soon Jose Quintana, but that’s not a very wise decision on their part. They’re getting to the point where they can’t feasibly sign someone like that to eat some innings and flip at the deadline. They have guys like Quinn Priester, Carmen Mlodzinski, Mike Burrows, Kyle Nicolas, and Cody Bolton performing solidly at Double-A and Triple-A. Not to mention that Roansy Contreras is in the majors and Mitch Keller and JT Brubaker has looked a whole lot better since turning to their sinker a lot more often.
Nutting is the MLB equivalent of a “homeless person” you see at the same intersection every day who lives in a nicer house than you do and is pulling in $200K annually tax free. He plays the role of have-not very well – always has.
I remember when a lot of Angels fans were mad at, the Angels for not out bidding the White Sox for him. The same with Patrick Corbin, Ryu, Jason Hayward, all horrible contracts. Yes the Angels have made some bad choices, but there isn’t a team in baseball, over the past decade who hasn’t made bad decisions when it comes to contracts.
Yeah, almost any contract more than 3 years will lead to regret.
A pitcher looking for a bounce back to a once shiny career? Moreno is telling Minasian right now to grab him up as the answer to the Angel’s pitching problems…season salvaged.
You haven’t actually watched the Angels this year have you? Since the Angels went into this free fall, May 16th the Angels are 16th in team ERA. Now granted that isn’t great, but it’s not horrible either. In that same time span, the Angels are 29th in runs scored. Scoring runs has a bigger problem than pitchers not doing their jobs.
I’ve watched almost every game this season. I’m not speaking of this year in a vacuum. That has been Moreno’s track record on pitching for over a decade now.
Someone will take a flier on him before the end of the season.
You’re right – he’s just the latest version of Shelby Miller who certain staffs feel they can fix. Sorry, but like Miller Keuchel has transformed into a 1976 Chevy Vega which we all know is eternally unfixable.
The Reds looked at signing him in 2019 but passed. They wasted millions on Moose instead.
Nightingale reporting bad clubhouse chemistry in the Diamondback. Poor Dallas. Can’t catch a break.