Minor League Baseball

Kansas City Royals Sign Ex-Cy Young Winner Dallas Keuchel to Minor League Contract

Dallas Keuchel is trying to keep his career alive, signing with the Kansas City Royals as they look to build more rotation depth heading into the second half of the season.
Sam Connon|
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel (60) pitches against the Washington Nationals in the first inning at American Family Field.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel (60) pitches against the Washington Nationals in the first inning at American Family Field. | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

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Kansas City RoyalsHouston Astros

The Kansas City Royals have signed veteran left-handed pitcher Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday morning.

Keuchel, 37, will start with Triple-A Omaha. Should he earn a big league call-up, the southpaw would cash in on a prorated $2 million salary.

While he has 13 seasons of big league experience, two All-Star appearances, five Gold Gloves, a World Series ring and a Cy Young to his name, Keuchel has yet to pitch in a game in 2025. He split 2024 between the Milwaukee Brewers' starting rotation, the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate and the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Keuchel posted a 5.40 ERA, 1.860 WHIP, 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.0 WAR in four MLB outings last season. Between Triple-A and Japan, he went 9-8 with a 3.81 ERA, 1.243 WHIP and 6.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

Keuchel is best known for his stint with the Houston Astros between 2012 and 2018. From 2014 to 2020, he went 81-55 with a 3.25 ERA, 1.191 WHIP, 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings and a 21.9 WAR.

While he continued to put up solid production with the Atlanta Braves in 2019 and the Chicago White Sox in 2020, Keuchel's numbers fell off a cliff from there. Between 2021 and 2024, Keuchel went 13-19 with a 6.24 ERA, 1.686 WHIP, 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings and a -2.6 WAR, taking the mound for the White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Brewers in that time.

The Royals currently have a full rotation of Seth Lugo, Kris Bubic, Michael Wacha, Michael Lorenzen and Noah Cameron. Should any of them go down, Keuchel is about as experienced of a replacement as the Royals could get.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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