July 25: Keuchel’s contract with the Twins contains a second out clause on the day of the trade deadline, MLBTR has learned. That likely played a significant factor in his decision to forgo the first opportunity; he can continue pitching with the Twins’ Triple-A club for now and then decide on his second opt-out once he has a clearer idea which teams might need immediate rotation help in the wake of the trade deadline.
In the meantime, the veteran lefty continues to pitch well. He tossed six shutout innings in his most recent start for the Saints and is now sporting a 0.69 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and 60.5% grounder rate in 26 innings with the Twins’ Triple-A club.
July 21: Keuchel will not trigger his opt-out clause, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (Twitter link). He’ll remain with St. Paul and will not occupy a spot on the Minnesota 40-man roster for the time being.
July 19: Left-hander Dallas Keuchel signed a minor league deal with the Twins about a month ago and it seems they will have to soon make a decision about whether or not to give him a roster spot. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the southpaw can opt out of that deal on Friday.
Keuchel, 35, was once one of the better pitchers in the league, winning the American League Cy Young award in 2015 by posting a 2.48 earned run average over 232 innings for the Astros. He continued to serve as an effective starter for years after that, even registering a tiny 1.99 ERA in the shortened 2020 season. The two years after that were rough, however, as his ERA shot up to 5.28 in 2022 and then a grisly 9.20 mark last year.
Those struggles last year saw him bounce from the White Sox to the Diamondbacks and the Rangers, as each club tried and failed to capture the previous form of Keuchel. He got some interest as a free agent this winter but ultimately lingered on the open market until last month, when the Twins signed him. At that point, it was noted that Keuchel had been working with Driveline Baseball in order to restore some of his lost velocity and movement.
If the recent results are any indication, the revamp of his arsenal is working. Since joining the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, Keuchel has tossed 20 innings over four starts with a 0.90 ERA. His 19.8% strikeout rate isn’t especially impressive, but the lefty has always been a grounder specialist and is keeping the ball in the dirt at a 55% clip so far this year.
The Twins’ rotation currently consists of Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Pablo López, Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray, all of whom are generally pitching well to various degrees this year. Maeda is the only one with an ERA above 4.25, and his 5.50 mark is largely skewed by a miserable 10-run outing just before he landed on the injured list. Since getting healthy and returning, he has a 2.70 ERA in four starts.
That could make the decision somewhat difficult for Minnesota, as they may not have an immediate need for Keuchel but they also might not want him to get away. Given his past track record and his strong results this year, he could surely find another opportunity elsewhere if he were to trigger that opt-out.
Great AAA numbers. Someone will be interested if not picked up.
Second out clause.
He’s only brought in to get the second out and then he’s hooked?
KOOCH!!!!!
His name isn’t pronounced “koo-chul”…… it’s pronounced “kai-kul”…. Might not want to call him the equivalent though
They called him that in Houston during his heyday there. I was not the originator
Now he’s just called KaKa
The most immature, yet accurate description. I would love, if he developed into a late season, emergency call-up. Yet, seen him roughed up a few times. He does not have “The Stuff” anymore. Decent for a 19-20 year old prospect.
I actually smiled when you said comment was immature lol you see , I’m 64. I have three passions of almost 50 years , (outside of family of course). Baseball Led Zeppelin and Jaguars.
Baseball makes me feel like a twelve year old sometimes. So much fun. Brings you back to yellin at the guy who strikes out. “ “you stink” etc
Astros reunion, please.
I thought the same. They need the innings.
Yes, Please!!!!
GM is long gone…..
Baker’s always wanting a lefty.
D needs to come home❤️❤️
Id love to see him stick around til the trade deadline in case we make a deal…..however i have been watching his AAA games in St. Paul, hes basically another Kenta.
Which is fine if thats what your team needs.
I keep thinking that the Twins might trade Kenta.
Or maybe move him to the bullpen.
Welcome to St Louis Dallas Keuchel.
dodgers
I can see the O’s paying him a few million for the remaining 60 some games and then let him establish more fuel for a major league (likely 2 yr) contract in the off season.
He’d probably be a #3-4 for the Os (their whole rotation is made of the same.)
I’d try out pretty much anyone sitting on the couch before going with him, reminds me of James Shields and Jake Arrietta at the end batting practice pitchers
100 percent spot on! The man is toast.
James Shields never had a peak close to Kooch. Many suspected Jake Arrietta’s short run was connected to PED use.
Kooch is in another class from those guys. If he learned how to get his velocity more from his legs, and less from the arm and shoulder, then we might see him squeeze out 3-5 more years of back end of the rotation production.
You might want to slide over to Baseball Reference and compare Keuchel to Shields, it’s actually not close Shields smokes him
52 more days for the full mlb pension!220k at age 62! Go Dallas!
It’s weird you think all that about someone you don’t know. You even have it all figured out. That’s really weird man.
What’s so weird??
If you got to ask that then you’re weird too.
I hope DK gets the service time.
Of course. Everyone hopes so. We are all rooting for him.
Go with a 6man or put one of their starters on the IL so they can showcase him before the deadline.
I don’t think you can just put guys on the IL if they are not injured and none of the twins starters are injured. if he’s performing well in AAA, I’d either go 6 man or long reliever.
He’s old enough and with that high ERA, he’s a perfect fit for the Mets.
Can the Twins find trade partners for Sonny Gray, Kenta Madea,,Joey Gallo, Max Kepler and Byron Buxton before Friday?
Next Friday isn’t deadline if it was we would have more Trades by know.
Red Sox need help desperately
Cole Sands can go down opening bullpen spot for Keuchel or Maeda with the other starting. Buxton needs to go on IL or DL whatever you want to call it until he can play CF again. Polanco also due to return to the Twins this weekend and I doubt they send Julian down as he is their hottest hitter so probably Wallner also back to AAA.
Please call him up.
Signed, White Sox fan.
Twins are in desperate need in the bullpen. Easy decision to add him and remove any one of bottom 3-4 guys. He can’t be any worse.
Maybe the Twins will send him to the Reds if they aren’t gunshy from dealing with them.
Reds were very interested in him when he first hit free agency back when
The Twins also acquired Sonny Gray and Kyle Farmer from the Reds and don’t have any regrets about those trades.
I hope he gets his pension… otherwise, Kelly Nash might exercise her opt-out.
Bring him up for a start and see what he has left. Best case scenario he pitches well and the Twins either use a 6 man staff or move Maeda to the bullpen. Worst case he stinks and everybody gets an extra day of rest. There is really nothing to lose here
Bring him up as a bullpen arm, and flip him at the deadline. Sounds like a good plan.
Pick him up Twinkies! Everyone else, light him up
Six man rotation is coming. The Twins will likely send down a bullpen short reliever or one hitter to make room for DK.
You can never have too much starting pitching. I could see the twins sending Buxton to the injured list to make room and allow him to fix whatever is ailing him.
Word on the street is that he is heading back to Chicago. Stay tuned
I don’t see the twins letting him get back there. The best offense is sometimes defense.
That said it makes it much easier for Chicago to trade Giolito.
I personally think the twins find a way to bring him up. He is too valuable of an arm.
Colorado, St. Louis, Cubs (if they trade Hendricks & Stroman), Dodgers & Rays would nab him as all have a need for SP.
Dallasterisk Keuchel
Now the twins need to find a trade partner. Twins have one of the best rotations in the majors statistically. I don’t think he could help there and I think there are better relievers that will become available.
Twins needs a left handed long reliever. I see Dallas eventually making his Twins debut
Keuchel only really has value as a starter.
He doesn’t have the combination of breaking stuff and velocity to have much advantage vs LH hitrera and he needs to pitch regularly to be effective.
A long reliever who is used perhaps once every other series is not only poor use of a roster spot, but a very difficult role for a pitcher like Keuchel who relies so heavily on touch and control.
Surprising he stuck around. Colorado is running out AAA arms in their rotation.
The longer he sticks around the less time he has to spend with his peculiar looking wife.
Come to the Red Sox rejuvenate your career let’s do this
Watched Keuchel pitch the other day at a Saints game. Fastball sat at 85mph, maxed at 87mph. Gave up plenty of good contact. Couldn’t pitch out of jams. I certainly wasn’t impressed.
Good scouting. Tries to live at the bottom (or lower) of the zone to make up for low velocity. Running on fumes.@
He banked a lot for poor performance w/WSox. That puts him way ahead of missing out on a pension.
This is now 2 more articles than I needed about this washed up bum.
Alright, I’ve marked my calendar. I wasn’t really too excited about the trade deadline so this gives me something to get excited about. I probably won’t sleep until I find out if he opts out or not.
So Keuchels ERA was 5.28 in 2022 and over 9 last year. I thought 2022 was last year??
Does Dallas Keuchel warrant a SECOND post in a couple weeks?
Add Dallas Keuchel to a dime, you still have just ten cents…
Trade em for Ohtani … Lotsa pipe dreams in these comments, there IS a reason he was released by 3tms in matter of months last yr, was always soft tosser n now he’s lost even more velo, his stuff looks like pinata 2MLB hitter, league will give subtle hints as2 fact when Ur done like raging inferno era of 9+, I luv em pitching 4ur team
There are too many quality arms available for anyone to want him at the deadline.
Twins should use some of their excess starting pitching to get a right-handed power bat.
He’ll get the call as a 6th starter
Ober is nearing his career high in innings, Gray hasn’t surpassed 135IP since 2019, Maeda barely back from Tommy John and the Twins last bullpen member, Cole Sands has pitched twice in the last 16 days.
Twins playoff hopes lie with their top 3 starters health. Still have to figure out those top 3 (something that is currently up for serious debate) but they have time
At this point in his career, any MLB team/GM rostering Dallas Keuchel is throwing games. Might as well roster Madison Bumgarner for the daily double.
@Nationals please sign him
A second opt-out only serves as another chance to say no to this washed-up starter.