Dallas Keuchel has beaten the Twins a half-dozen times during his 11-year career, including twice as recently as two summers ago. Now the Twins will see if Carlos Correa's former teammate has enough left to win a few games for them.
Twins sign former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel to minor-league deal
The 35-year-old is a five-time Gold Glove winner and was on the Astros' 2017 World Series championship team.
June 23, 2023 at 12:34AM
A winner of 101 games over his career and the 2015 AL Cy Young Award while with the Astros, Keuchel signed a minor league contract with the Twins on Thursday. He'll report to Class AAA St. Paul, with an eye toward returning to the major leagues.
Keuchel, 35, bounced around unsuccessfully with three teams last year, allowing 47 runs over 42 innings with the White Sox, Diamondbacks and Rangers, and appeared headed toward retirement when Texas released him on Sept. 4. But the Tulsa native has been working toward a return, and impressed the Twins enough to earn a look, on a contract that has little risk for the Twins.
"We're glad to have him in the organization and give him an opportunity to pitch and show all the things he's been working on," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of the lefthander, who owns a 3.98 career ERA. "Everyone has to earn their opportunities. But seeing him back out there is a good thing, and I'm glad we got him."
Should Keuchel earn a promotion, he would become the sixth former Cy Young winner, besides their own trio of honorees (Jim Perry, Frank Viola and Johan Santana), to pitch for the Twins, joining Dean Chance, Mike Marshall, Steve Carlton, Steve Bedrosian and Bartolo Colon. In addition, R.A. Dickey pitched for the Twins three years before winning the NL award.
Keuchel was 20-8 and led the majors in innings pitched for Houston in 2015 when he won the Cy Young Award. He spent seven seasons with the Astros and won four Gold Gloves before signing with Atlanta in 2019.
In 2020, he signed a three-year, $55.5 million deal with the White Sox and had a strong first season with a 1.99 ERA in the COVID-shortened year. But he struggled in 2021 and was designated for assignment in May last season and then pitched briefly for Arizona and Texas.
Keuchel won a World Series with the Astros in 2017. In 268 major league games, he has a 101-91 record and a 3.98 ERA. He was an All-Star in 2015 and 2017.
Only 34 years old, Jeremy Zoll has worked his way up the organizational ranks since coming to the Twins in 2018.
