New York Yankees: Making A Case For The Signing Of Dallas Keuchel

It was November 12, 2018, when Gary Phillips of Forbes.com announced that “Dallas Keuchel is prepared to trade his beard for the pinstripes.”  Keuchel told Fox Business Segment that “The lure of the city would be really cool. I like pitching in Yankee Stadium.”

Keuchel would not be the solution to any of the Yankees offseason problems; James Paxton and Adam Ottaviano were acquired to fill the open spots on the Yankees pitching staff.  Keuchel has yet to land employment for the ’19 season.

Has Keuchel fallen victim to what Buster Olney described as:

“The recent industry wariness of performance (and investment) in players in their early to mid-30s?” 

Or did his performance over the last season exhibit signs of declining ability?

The question being floated again among Yankee fans is whether Keuchel could be brought on board as the swingman to be inserted into the rotation not if, but when, injury occurs to one of the starting pitchers.

The New York Yankees will not match his demands:

Would Keuchel accept such a role?  His agent, Scott Boras, has said he is looking for 6-7 years, $25-30 million, which as we have seen this offseason has become unthinkable in terms of both length and amount, which is why, on March 5th, Keuchel sits, still waiting for an opportunity.

Keuchel, 30, pitched 204.2 innings to a 3.74 ERA in 2018.  If this is not the Yankee-killer fans remember (he owns a 2.22 ERA in eight starts against the Yankees), it’s because, as Tyler Norton in Pinstripealley.com notes, “he exhibited serious signs of decline” in ’18.  According to Norton, Keuchel’s ground ball rate dropped, his hard contact rate increased and his ability to locate his pitches dropped from elite to league average.

Keuchel would appear to have priced himself with his performance in ’18 right out of the market.  Buster Olney also states that “

“For a pitcher as accomplished as Keuchel, there will always be interest, but the clubs that seriously consider him now are vultures, more than likely, looking for a player whose market has been damaged.”

Despite a down year, Keuchel finished with an ERA under 3.00 three times, while amassing nearly 1,000 innings and averaging 29 starts per season.

While the Yankees would likely balk at the term “vultures,” Keuchel might make sense at this point, with spring training in full swing, and the Yankees uncertain who will fill the swingman role – although Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Domingo German are all likely candidates.  Keuchel is not only durable but also a battle-tested veteran as well. 

Olney goes on to say that “the market conditions for an unsigned starting pitcher, with Opening Day just 24 days away, are ugly.”  Perhaps ugly enough for the Yankees and Keuchel to make the sort of deal that would benefit both sides?  Keuchel gets a job, the Yankees get #28.