Dallas Keuchel is still waiting for his big payday, and the New York Yankees just might be the team that gives it to him.
How do the New York Yankees replace a Cy Young Award winning lefty starter like CC Sabathia? With another Cy Young southpaw like Dallas Keuchel, of course.
That appears to be the thought process in the Bombers’ front office at the moment. Newsday’s Erik Boland spotted Yankees’ scouts on hand at Keuchel’s latest workout:
Dallas Keuchel has been throwing sim games every 5 days or so in Newport Beach & the Yankees had one of their top evaluators watching his rain-shortened outing today. Keep in mind the Yankees almost always do their due diligence on these things but obviously wanted to get a look
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) May 26, 2019
The 31-year-old hurler has had a free agency to forget, remaining unsigned roughly a third of the way through the 2019 season. This despite a highly respectable 3.66 career ERA and two MLB All-Star appearances to go along with his Cy Young.
Keuchel also put up 204.2 innings in 2018; however, he allowed a league-worst 211 hits, and his SO/W ratio (2.64) dropped for the third year in a row.
He seems to be banking on his stellar track record overcoming subpar analytical projections to earn a substantial deal. His patience just might pay off.
New York isn’t the only team sniffing around Keuchel. Teams like the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves are reportedly keeping close tabs on him as well.
That multi-team interest could create a bidding war. Such a situation would once have been a Bombers advantage, but their Brinks truck has been in the shop for the past few years.
Circumstances may force them to back it up at least once more, though.
Sabathia should be back sooner rather than later, but his faulty right knee is getting older every day. James Paxton’s return is also imminent, but he’s infamously injury prone.
Don’t forget Luis Severino, the Yankees ace, who isn’t expected back until much later in the season. Although Domingo German has filled in nicely, he just gave up four homers against the lowly Kansas City Royals to prove he’s certainly human.
Don’t be even a little bit shocked if you see Dallas in the Bronx before the season reaches the first official day of summer. To prepare for that possibility, here’s a picture of a bare-faced Keuchel:
[membership level="0"] [/membership]No beard Dallas Keuchel looks extremely weird pic.twitter.com/QR4Z8nXKzs
— Remington Scott (@remingtonjscott) October 7, 2015
