The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed veteran left-handed starter Dallas Keuchel to a minor-league contract, CBS Sports confirmed. Keuchel was recently designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox. Ken Rosenthal adds that Keuchel will report to Triple-A and may opt-out if he's not added to the active major-league roster by a certain date.
Keuchel in his age-34 season has struggled badly. Across eight starts with Chicago, he pitched to a 7.88 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 20 walks -- 18 unintentional -- in 32 innings. Keuchel in 2021 registered a 5.28 ERA with 105 runs allowed in 162 innings. The Sox signed Keuchel to a three-year, $55.5 million contract prior to the abbreviated 2020 season, and he fared quite well in his first year with Chicago, as he put up a 1.99 ERA in 11 starts. Since then, however, he's met with little success.
He's owed the balance of an $18 million, but because Keuchel cleared waivers after his DFA the Diamondbacks will cover just the pro-rated league minimum. The White Sox will cover the rest of his remaining 2022 salary.
Keuchel, a five-time Gold Glover and the 2015 AL Cy Young winner, has never boasted good velocity, but his deep repertoire and strong groundball tendencies have afforded him much success earlier in his career. This season, however, he's posting the lowest groundball rate of his career.
The hope in Arizona is that a reunion with pitching coach Brent Strom, who worked with Keuchel during his peak years with the Astros, may unlock some of his old skills on the mound.
