It has been almost one year to the day that 2015 Cy Young Dallas Keuchel took a major league mound, when he started for the Milwaukee Brewers and was shelled for eight hits in three innings by the Nationals. He made only four appearances for Milwaukee last season, the latest stop of a once dominant hurler whose career has fallen off the tracks. But not the last one. An AL Central team has decided to give Keuchel another shot.
Milwaukee Brewers Cut Off Dallas Keuchel Experiment Quickly – Perhaps He’ll Last Longer This Time
Keuchel’s brief 2024 stint wasn’t pretty. The now 37-year-old lefty allowed 23 hits, eight walks, and 10 earned runs across 16.2 innings. After a weak Washington lineup knocked him around, the Brewers designated Keuchel for assignment.
Now the Kansas City Royals are granting him another opportunity, in the form of a minor league contract.
Since posting a 1.99 ERA in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, Keuchel has struggled to regain his footing. For five different teams, he compiled a 6.83 ERA across 68 starts. He hasn’t thrown more than 60.2 innings since 2021.
Prior to his downfall, Keuchel dominated in Houston from 2014-2018, logging a sub-3.00 ERA three times. His 20-win 2015 campaign won him the AL Cy Young.
Never a dominant strikeout pitcher, the soft-tossing sinkerballer may have aged out of the modern game. The Brewers signed Keuchel in 2024 after he spent the first half of the season in Seattle’s minor league system. A few weeks after his DFA, he signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese League. He hasn’t pitched professionally since his 40 innings there.
Heading down to the Royals’ farm system, he will have to earn his return to the Show. At 45-48, 14 games behind division-leading Detroit, Kansas City isn’t a contender but has a fairly well-stocked rotation. Keuchel might be stationed in Triple-A Omaha merely for organizational depth purposes.
Between the American and National Leagues, the Royals will be the fourth central division team Keuchel has pitched for if he gets the call-up, in addition to the Brewers, White Sox, and Twins.
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