The Texas Rangers announced on Monday night they had signed veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel to a minor-league deal. Keuchel will report to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock later this week, just days after he was designated for assignment and released by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Keuchel, 34, is on his third organization of the season. He started the year with the Chicago White Sox and was released after making eight appearances, all starts. He subsequently made four starts with the Diamondbacks before receiving his pink slip. Overall, he’s accumulated an 8.53 ERA (48 ERA+) and a 1.41 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 50 ⅔ innings pitched this year.
Keuchel’s poor pitching dates back to last season, when he posted an 83 ERA+ and a 1.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 32 outings with the White Sox. Prior to that, he had established himself as a high-quality big-league starter. Indeed, Keuchel authored a seven-year run from 2014-20 where he tallied a 3.25 ERA (125 ERA+) and a 2.98 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He won the 2015 American League Cy Young Award and he won four of his five career Gold Glove Awards during that run.
The Rangers, for their part, likely view Keuchel as a low-risk addition who provides another layer of depth in case of an injury or underperformance from current rotation members Glenn Otto and Spencer Howard.
Texas still has a small hope of making it to the postseason. They entered Monday with a 43-51 record on the season, putting them 20 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West. More importantly, the Rangers are seven games back in the wild card race. SportsLine’s forecasts, as a result, give them a 1.9 percent shot at making the it to the tournament.
