Ex-Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel lands Mariners deal, but there’s a catch

Last season, Keuchel signed a minor league contract with the Twins in June.

He made his debut on Aug. 6. He allowed one run in five innings during his debut before getting shelled in his second start in which he surrendered six runs and was pulled in the second inning.

The Twins ended up using him out of the bullpen, which isn’t his preference.

“Would I like to relieve? Not really,” Keuchel said, “At the same time, I want to win. I made that clear with why I wanted to stick in Minnesota. This is kind of what we could do. I just want to be a part of something.”

The former Cy Young winner came into the 2022 season looking to avenge his terrible campaign. However, he has somehow performed worse than he did the year prior. After being cut by the Chicago White Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks, Keuchel found himself with the Texas Rangers.

After a few good starts for their minor league division, the Rangers decided to promote Dallas Keuchel to the big leagues for a few start. It couldn’t have gone any worse for the team. In his two starts, Keuchel posted an abysmal ERA of 12.40 in just 10 innings pitched. Shortly thereafter the Rangers designated him for assignment.

While it isn’t reasonable to expect the 2020 Cy Young Award-winning version of Keuchel make his return in a Mariners uniform, he could be a solid option as a long reliever and possible spot fifth starter.

The Mariners feature one of the better pitching rotations in the American League. Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby head up the front of the rotation. Bryce Miller has slotted into the fourth spot nicely, but the team doesn’t have a dedicated fifth starter at this point. In Seattle’s fifth game of the season, Emerson Hancock went just over five innings.

Young Matt Brash, who has some of the best pure stuff in baseball but has struggled with his command, could potentially take that spot as well if neither Hancock nor Keuchel work out.