Royals Acquire 37-Year-Old Cy Young Winner In Out-Of-Nowhere Minor League Signing

The Kansas City Royals' primary issue is offense, but that's not stopping them from trying to upgrade the pitching staff.

With All-Star lefty Cole Ragans on the 60-day injured list, the Royals are one more starting pitching injury away from having to dip into the minor leagues to fill out a rotation.

On Wednesday, the Royals signed 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract, per a report from ESPN's Jeff Passan.

"Keuchel, 37, held a workout last week and was up to 92 mph. He’ll start at AAA and if he gets to the big leagues would make $2 million prorated," Passan wrote.

That $2 million salary is already more than half-gone, as the Royals have played 93 games, Realistically, Keuchel could wind up making around $750 thousand at most.

Keuchel's career to this point has been a story of highs and lows. In addition to the Cy Young Award, he was a two-time All-Star and World Series champion with the Houston Astros. He also won five Gold Gloves, the most recent of which came in 2021 with the Chicago White Sox.

However, Keuchel also owns a career ERA of 4.04, due in large part to the 6.24 mark he's put up in 60 appearances since the start of 2021. He's pitched for five teams in that time frame, and accrued -2.6 bWAR.

Keuchel last pitched in the majors in 2024 for the Milwaukee Brewers. He had a 5.40 ERA and 5.63 FIP in 16 2/3 innings.

Whether Keuchel will make it to the active roster for the Royals remains a mystery, but this is clearly a team unafraid to take gambles on veteran pitching. They signed 45-year-old Rich Hill, who owns a 6.17 ERA in Triple-A Omaha, back in May.

Perhaps Keuchel will have better luck working his way through the minors in the Kansas City organization.

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