The New York Yankees could still use some help in their starting rotation until Luis Severino returns and potentially beyond, so it makes sense that they have been linked to free agent pitcher Dallas Keuchel. However, they may prefer to wait another month before they consider signing the left-hander.
Jon Heyman of Fancred reports that the Yankees are one of the teams interested in Keuchel, but they would want to wait until after the MLB Draft ends on June 5 to sign him. That is because they would not have to give the Houston Astros — Keuchel’s former team — compensation in the form of a draft pick if they wait until after the draft to sign him.
Yankees (and presumably others) would be interested in Keuchel should he wait until after draft to sign. This/many other notes in Bigtime Baseball Podcast. w/me and @joshlewinstuff https://t.co/0n90anIfo5
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 2, 2019
Keuchel’s asking price seemed to come down dramatically after the regular season began, yet the 31-year-old remains a free agent. The reason the Astros would be entitled to draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere before the draft is that he turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer from them, and you have to wonder if he regrets not taking it at this point.
If the money is right, teams could do a lot worse than Keuchel. He made 34 starts for the Astros last season and threw over 200 innings, though his strikeout numbers were down a bit to 6.7 per nine innings and his 1.31 WHIP was his highest in six years. His ERA also jumped from 2.90 in 2017 to 3.74 in 2018, but he’s still better than a lot of pitchers who currently have jobs.
