Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel are expected to be more heavily pursued after they become unrestricted free agents at midnight Sunday night, but teams apparently still have concerns about the amount of time the two pitchers have missed this season.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, teams that are interested in signing Kimbrel and/or Keuchel believe it could be at least another month before they are ready to pitch in live MLB games.
Teams involved in the Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel talks are leery that either will be ready before July. Neither have faced #MLB hitters in eight months, and the landscape is filled with pitchers who struggled after signing late. They are unrestricted free agents at midnight
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 2, 2019
A recent report indicated as many as six teams could be in the mix to sign Keuchel once he becomes an unrestricted free agent who no longer has draft pick compensation attached to him. Several others are looking for bullpen help and would be interested in Kimbrel at the right price, so both should find a home in the near future even with the concerns about their time off.
Kimbrel’s asking price was said to be too high for at least one team as of recently.
