Dallas Keuchel is signing minors deal with Twins

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 22, 2023

Dallas Keuchel from Hero to Zero

Keuchel was one of the league’s top pitchers from 2014-2020, posting a 3.25 ERA and 1.192 WHIP in over 1100 innings. He’s never had a lot of velocity (87-90 MPH) on his fastball nor has he ever been a strikeout king (career 6.09 SO/9).

Nobody cared about that when he was dominating hitters in the mid-late 2000’s but his production fell off a cliff in 2021 and 2022. Suddenly, the soft-tossing lefty couldn’t get anyone out. In 222.2 innings during those two seasons, Dallas saw his ERA rise to 6.25 and his WHIP balloon to 1.675.

For the first 1/3 of the 2023 season, Dallas Keuchel has been working with Driveline Baseball to keep himself ready for whatever team he signed with. That allowed the Twins and other interested teams to track his progress and keep track of where his movement and pitch speeds stood.

Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) Averages from @DrivelineBB live session today.

????Fastball Velo: 89.0 ????(+1.8 from 87.2 in '22) ????

⚾️Sinker: 88.9, 6VB, 14HB, 6.2' Release Height
????Cutter: 85.4, 7.5VB, 4.5 Sweep (+4 vs. '22)
????Change: 79.5, 3.5VB, 12HB
????Slider: 78.5, -4VB, 8 Sweep https://t.co/Rn34u5S27X pic.twitter.com/bCsBvso0tD

— Chris Langin (@LanginTots13) June 14, 2023

What is the Minnesota Twins’ plan for Keuchel?

Keuchel is being brought in as a depth piece for the Minnesota Twins’ rotation, just in case anything should happen to one of their current starters. But his left-handedness and elite past makes his signing a bit more intriguing. What if he does regain some of the form we’ve seen in his past.

The Twins do not have a lefty in their rotation and the #5 spot seems to be up for grabs. Kenta Maeda has been underwhelming and oft-injured, since his return from Tommy John surgery, and Louie Varland just got demoted, after a fast big league start sputtered and stalled out in recent weeks.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

So, here we are Twins fans. Just where we all expected to be 1/3 through the season. 39-18 and 10.5 games ahead of the nearest AL Central contender. Ok, so I was the only person picking the Twins to win the division before the season started and even I based it much more off of the competition within our division (or lack-there-of), as opposed to us pissing on baseballs at an MLB record pace…

…but that’s where we are nonetheless. And, happy to be here.

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But, what now? We are in uncharted territory for even the best Twins’ teams of our past. The Twins don’t need any help in the lineup. Once healthy, they’ll be sending bona fide MLB hitters down to AAA because there won’t be any room.

However, pitching needs (maybe) an upgrade?

Our new front office might not have expected to be in this position quite so soon… but now that they are, they look like they know exactly what they’re doing (unlike some front offices of our past).

Here is what Jayson Stark (The Athletic) wrote earlier this weekend about how aggressive the Twins are right now, in an effort to get high-end pitching help:

Two different execs nominated the Twins so vociferously, let’s start with them. Could they sign Craig Kimbrel before they even plow into their midseason trade shopping? “I can guarantee he’s on their shopping list,” one AL exec said. But even if the Twins don’t get that deal done, rival teams expect them to hit the accelerator in the next few weeks to add pitching any way they can. “To say they’ll be active might be an understatement,” another exec said. “No matter where they are in the standings, they’re always in very aggressive midseason mode. Whether they have a chance to win or not, they use that period.”

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The Twins actually being reported as the feistiest and most active OF ALL TEAMS that are in buy-mode… let that sink in.

There are reports coming out of everywhere that they are seriously in on both Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, now that draft pick compensation will be out of the picture and (hopefully) the price (and years) have gone down…

Alright, for those who are stat hunting or combing through the MLB team pitching rankings, a need to upgrade the Twins pitching staff might be a hard sell. However, if you know the past of the pitchers throughout this team (who are currently putting up career-high numbers), you know better than to buy in on them this high. 

While I believe that Wes Johnson really has made all of our staff better and that it is showing on a nightly basis, entering the playoffs with this unknown commodity of a pitching staff, would be a terrible fucking idea. Great pitching is what wins World Series. Ask Jack Morris. 

And that’s what we have here. A team that can make a World Series run with some high-end help in both the rotation and bullpen.

I know it makes sense for the Twins to really pull the trigger on the type of move we’ve NEVER seen from them before, and I’ve been calling for it all season long… but it’s still hard to believe this is real life…

The Twins… buyers… the BIGGEST buyers on the market…

I’m going to need a place to put this for the foreseeable future… it might become a problem with this front office around…

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Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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Spring Training is underway and the Minnesota Twins look up at the Cleveland Indians. But, the Twins haven’t been standing around. Here’s what the Twins’ offseason looks like so far:

• Added notable free agents Nelson Cruz, Jonathan Schoop, CJ Cron, and most recently Marwin Gonzalez.
• Locked up young players Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco to smart long term extensions.
• Basically did nothing with the pitching staff except for Martin Perez and Blake Parker…yet:

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Derek Falvey stopped short of fully saying that the #MNTwins are done adding, but he did say that barring something unexpected, he anticipates that the 25-man roster will be selected from guys already in camp.

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) February 25, 2019

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I’m not saying… but I’m just saying… that IF I were still shopping around the Free Agent market during Spring Training…. i PROBABLY wouldn’t make comments in the media that would get my current players (and 25-man roster) worried about a big shake-up… If Dallas Kuechel changed his willingness to sign a short-term deal, would that be considered “something unexpected”? Again, I’m not saying… but I’m just saying…

Well, just in case… let’s take a look at what’s available. There are a few intriguing possibilities:

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Dallas Keuchel

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Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) on his free agent situation: “I'm calm & collected outside the field. So I really don't hit the panic button at all. I'm worried about getting myself ready..At the same time I'd like to get out there & meet new teammates or meet old teammates.” pic.twitter.com/JdOo00Wa7q

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) February 25, 2019

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Dallas Keuchel could help many teams but his market has been bone-dry. I’m shocked that the crafty lefty hasn’t seen an offer similar to what the Twins did last year with Lance Lynn. I know, I know… that didn’t work out but that isn’t to say that Keuchel wouldn’t. Time is running out because whoever doesn’t end up with Bryce Harper will probably get Keuchel.

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The fact that Dallas Keuchel is still not on a team is honstly more ridiculous than than the fact that Bryce Harper is not, someone give him five years and $100 million, you’ll get your money’s worth.

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) February 24, 2019

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Craig Kimbrel

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According to multiple GMs Craig Kimbrel asking price has still not come down and sources close to Kimbrel think he will consider sitting out the year if he doesn’t get close to his perceived value.

— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) February 23, 2019

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Kimbrel is apparently asking for a lot. So much, that he is apparently willing to sit out 2019 if he doesn’t get an offer the $6 year, $100 million contract offer he wants. I’ve already pleaded my case for the Twins to offer him an overpaid 1 year deal, for $21ish million and I still firmly believe they should do so. The longer we drag out this free agency thing, the better an offer like that looks. Yes, there are risks but what do you have to lose? Shorten the game and win the damn division.

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I never seriously considered Craig Kimbrel an option for the Twins because he was said to be seeking a six-year deal. However, if he's now available for, say, a three-year deal, they should absolutely be interested. I ranked Kimbrel as the #8 free agent. https://t.co/UoG8N1tdoN pic.twitter.com/X16TSZT8b9

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) February 1, 2019

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Let’s take a current stock of the rest of the division:

• Kansas City Royals suck
• Chicago White Sox are young and suck
• Detroit Tigers suck
• Cleveland Indians have peaked and is going to start to regress

The Twins have to be waiting for something big to happen don’t they? Or am I falling for the trap? I’m falling for the trap right? Who the hell knows. I just know that this roster is REALLY close to being REALLY good and with this type of talent still on the FA shelves…. you don’t close that door early.

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Seth Toupal @SethToups
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

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