The Twins are signing former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel to a minor league deal, according to a report from baseball insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
The 35-year-old has fallen out of favor with teams across the league over the last two seasons, as he’s been a shell of his former self. After a strong 2020 with the White Sox in which he went 6–2 with a 1.99 ERA in 11 starts during the COVID-19-shortened season, his fastball struggled in consistency.
Over 222 and two-thirds innings pitched since 2021 with Chicago, the Diamondbacks and the Rangers, he has accumulated a 6.35 ERA. In ’22, he surrendered 62 earned runs in 60 and two-thirds innings while averaging a career-worst 87.8 miles per hour on his fastball.
MLB Trade Rumors noted that Keuchel has been working with Driveline Baseball and has restored some of the velocity on his fastball that made him one of the game’s top pitchers from 2014 to ’20.
Keuchel won his only Cy Young award in 2015 with the Astros when he compiled a 20–8 record with a 2.48 ERA and 216 strikeouts over 232.0 innings pitched. While he is far from the pitcher that he was then, the Twins are hoping he can be elevated to the starting rotation later this summer to provide the staff a boost.
