Report: White Sox sign Keuchel to bolster starting rotation
White Sox fans can safely dial up the excitement level, all the way to full blown.
A jaded base that has endured seven straight losing seasons and a painful three-year rebuild was feeling better after the Sox signed star free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal, brought back first baseman Jose Abreu for three more years, acquired right fielder Nomar Mazara in a trade with the Rangers and picked up free-agent starter Gio Gonzalez.
On Saturday, the White Sox added a huge name to the haul - left-handed starter Dallas Keuchel.
According to multiple reports, Keuchel is joining the Sox on a three-year, $55.5 million contract. There is also a vesting $18.5 million option for a fourth season.
Heading into the off-season, general manager Rick Hahn was quite clear about his desire to add two veteran starters to a rotation that includes breakout all-star Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez and Michael Kopech, who is likely to be rusty early after having Tommy John surgery and sitting out last season.
"The needs, obviously, in the starting rotation, we identified towards the end of last season publicly that was going to be an area that we wanted to address," Hahn said after Grandal signed a four-year, $73 million contract in late November. "Hopefully, we're going to be able to do that as quickly and as effectively as we were able to add Yasmani."
The White Sox offered free-agent starter Zack Wheeler a five-year contract in the range of $125 million, but he took a five-year, $118 million deal from the Phillies for family reasons.
The Sox also had a strong interest in Madison Bumgarner, but the veteran lefty was more comfortable signing a five-year, $85 million contract with the Diamondbacks.
That left Keuchel as the next most likely target, with six or seven other teams also in pursuit.
The White Sox came out on top this time, and the 2020 rotation is shaping up as a strength.
The 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner, when he was 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA for the Astros, Keuchel was a free agent last off-season but teams stayed away because they didn't want to surrender a first-round draft pick that came with Keuchel declining Houston's qualifying offer.
The Braves finally signed Keuchel in June after the amateur draft was over, and the 31-year-old pitcher was 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 19 starts. He also made 2 starts against the Cardinals in the NLDS and allowed 4 runs in 8 innings.
The Astros' seventh-round draft pick in 2009 out of Arkansas, Keuchel is a lifetime 84-71 with a 3.67 ERA in eight seasons with Houston and Atlanta.
In 12 playoff games (11 starts), the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder is 4-2 with a 3.47 ERA.