At this point in his career, Dallas Keuchel is not a productive starting pitcher. He signed with the Kansas City Royals on a minor-league deal, and will try to work his way up to the major-league roster. However, the odds are stacked against him. Keuchel hasn't had a productive season since 2020, when he was a member of the Chicago White Sox organization. He's been through a number of franchises since then, and it hasn't clicked. Could the answer be as simple as returning to where it all began?
We might never know. Keuchel won the AL Cy Young with the Astros back in 2015, but that was a long time ago. His latest comeback attempt with the Royals seems more like a pipe dream than anything concrete, but at least with Kansas City he'll have a chance to compete for a Wild Card spot if all goes well.
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Astros could be forced to trade for a pitcher
In an article from ESPN's Jeff Passan, the insider relayed that the Astros need starting pitching. He specifically said the Astros should trade for Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals.
"(They) currently sport a rotation that includes 26- and 28-year-old rookies. There is no reason they should be this good. And yet they are. So even if the cost is heavy and eats into a farm system that's among the worst in MLB, targeting a pitcher of Lugo's ilk would give them among the nastiest postseason rotations in the game and further entrench the Astros as a force. Lugo's peripherals suggest he's in line for regression but even if his ERA does jump from its current 2.67 mark, his nine-pitch mix gives him the flexibility to adjust in-game -- a luxury shared by only a handful of starters in the game," Passan wrote.
Lugo is a better pitcher than Keuchel at this point in time. However, he will also cost what little is left in the Astros farm system.
Astros have exhausted their resources to land pitching
Houston has exhausted its resources in recent years, and as they try to extend their competitive window, dealing for Lugo will only hurt their longevity. Keuchel, meanwhile, would've been a lottery ticket at best. However, their current rotation of relatively unproven young pitchers has been just fine. They rank sixth in MLB with a 3.58 team ERA. What's wrong with that?
Keuchel, at the very least, could have helped the Astros young pitchers from the dugout. Perhaps he is only a sixth starter, or part of the bullpen plan, but there's little reason Houston couldn't have given Keuchel the same chance Kansas City did.