The Rangers have signed Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. The 2015 AL Cy Young winner will soon report to Triple-A Round Rock.
Texas becomes the third team of the year to roll the dice on Keuchel. The two-time All-Star began the season with the White Sox, playing out the final campaign of the three-year free agent deal he signed over the 2019-20 offseason. Keuchel had thrived in the first season of that deal, posting a 1.99 ERA through 63 1/3 innings during the shortened campaign. He couldn’t maintain that production over a longer showing the following year, as the veteran southpaw was hit hard for a 5.28 ERA across 162 frames last season.
While the Sox surely hoped that Keuchel could bounce back this year, that hasn’t proven the case. He was tagged for a 7.88 ERA through his first eight starts with the South Siders, posting a matching 12.2% strikeout and walk rate. Chicago released him in late May, and he hit the open market after passing unclaimed through waivers. The Diamondbacks added him on a minor league deal a few days later, and he returned to the majors in the desert by the end of June. Arizona pitching coach Brent Strom had worked closely with Keuchel during his heyday with the Astros, but their second stint together proved brief.
Keuchel made just four starts for the Snakes. He served up 22 runs (20 earned) through 18 2/3 frames, although he did post a respectable 18:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Still, the volume of hard contact he surrendered was enough for Arizona to cut him loose within a few weeks.
There’s no risk for the Rangers in trying their hand at getting Keuchel back on track. The White Sox remain on the hook for his salary, and Texas would be responsible only for the prorated portion of the $700K minimum salary if he makes the majors. Lack of rotation depth has been a problem, with each of Taylor Hearn, Glenn Otto and Spencer Howard posting an ERA of 5.40 or higher. Keuchel adds 11 years of MLB experience and a robust list of career accolades to the upper levels of the organization, although his 2022 results have been worse than those of Hearn and Otto.
Diamondbacks legend
Texas will sign him to a 3 year $30MM contract as they tend to do!
Name a washed up pitcher they have signed for that lately! ⚾️
Chan Ho Park back when I was high school. I’m 37
Y tho
Need anything to eat innings. Perez and gray can’t do it by themselves, and BP is overworked having to pitch 4-5 innings the other 3 nights. It’s not a great signing, but we aren’t making the playoffs and just need to get through the season
Like 2 innings? And then you are so far behind, the game is moot? Guy can’t eat innings unless you want to lose that game. He is a detriment to any Bullpen he is trying to relieve.
We’re losing most of them anyway
Keuchel is to the point where he’s the guy you put in when you’re already losing by 10+ runs and you just need to get through the game.
If that is the case the Red Sox could use him lol
Eat innings and give up 1000 runs, check
Eat innings? More like choke on them.
“A giant ball of oil”: Cosmo Kramer.
One man’s trash is another man’s garbage.
Keuchel will last about a week there.
I did not see that coming. It’d be nice if he worked on his arsenal. Never too late to become a knuckleballer! I hope he sticks with the Rangers and makes a comeback.
Will Dallas play in Arlington?
No. Dallas and Tarrant county don’t like each other. ⚾️
Will the Dallas suburb make this Dallas superb?
Arlington isn’t a suburb of Dallas. It’s a city of 400,000+ in a different county.
Ah, whoops, first game he pitches Rangers 3 Other team 15
Would be great if the sport were like golf where low score wins
Giving up more runs than innings pitched is cy young level greatness.
Hot turd. Pass it around the league!
Why?
Dallas in Arlington
Could be a filler to call up Ragans, Winn, or White.
Possibly ragans. Winn and Owen’s aren’t ready. Winn has bombed at aaa, and white has 4 games under his belt at aa.
I’m expecting Ragans to get the September call-up. Winn will probably start in Round Rock next spring, and White should join him by then.
At least nobody is calling it a depth signing.
It’s a depth signing.
DK will sell tickets in Round Rock.
Gotta love guaranteed contracts. 37mil for last 2yrs of very poor performance and IL stints. This is the other side when rabid anti-owner posters bemoan certain players are so underpaid. Clubs simultaneously have some relative bargains and bad deals to absorb (usually veteran FAs like this).
KOOCH!!!!!
Hopefully his wife partakes in some of the BBQ offerings. She needs to start eating.
Stick a fork in him he’s done
This only makes sense if Texas is planning to unload a couple starters at the deadline. Even then, it’s hard to understand. He’s known for being a poison in the clubhouse, so why would they want their young arms in AAA to learn from him? Strange move, but historically speaking, pitching has always been an afterthought out here.
It’s time to fire Woodward’s ass! What’s it gonna take??? This guy sucks!!!!
Dumpster diving and paying above market to 30 year olds are really the only things in the Rangers’ front office bag of tricks. And to preemptively address the usual tired Rangers’ arguments, the dumpster diving hasn’t resulted in success:
Lance Lynn – traded for the underwhelming Dane Dunning. Poster boy of a 4.50 ERA back of rotation cannon fodder for a pretend contender. Lynn traded with an additional year of control left – one that would see him finish 3rd in AL Cy Young voting.
Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy – they had to send Hans Crouse out with these two guys to get back…Spencer Howard. Howard has a career 7 ERA. Crouse may actually be good away from Texas.
Mike Minor – gets back Dustin Harris.
So all that dumpster diving, time wasted, wheels spinning, losing seasons gets back Dustin Harris. bravo JD, bravo.