Dallas Keuchel is one of the many names in the MLB free agent market waiting for a lucrative pact but it seems no team has come forward. Although there are some teams that had expressed interest in the southpaw pitcher, none came close to the deal he has in mind.
Among the teams who offered the 31-year-old Keuchel a deal are the Houston Astros. He was offered a couple of short term deals (reportedly a one and two-year pact) but ended up thumbing down both, the Athletic reported. It seems he wants a longer and financially rewarding deal and that has yet to come his way.
#Astros have made both one- and two-year offers to free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, sources tell The Athletic. Offers not in range Keuchel is seeking. Desired terms not known. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 7, 2019
Despite rejecting the deal from the Astros, Houston is keeping tabs on his situation. General manager Jeff Luhnow remains interested in re-signing Keuchel, MLB.com reported. Another player the Astros had wanted to sign was Marwin Gonzalez until the 29-year-old signed with the Minnesotta Twins.
"We've had interest in both of the players and they know it," Luhnow said. "Obviously they both were critical parts of our success last six years. We'd love to keep them in the family."
Aside from the Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies are also interested in getting Keuchel. However, and similar to Houston, they are only open to making a short-term arrangement with the 31-year-old southpaw, CBS Sports reported.
With the regular MLB season set to start soon, it may all boil down to whether Keuchel would soften his stance and take a short-term deal at least for the coming season. Should that be the case, expect him to go through the details of the offers from the Astros and the Phillies before making a decision.
Keuchel is not the only high profile free agent in the MLB market. There is also Craig Kimbrel, Evan Gattis, Logan Morrison and Adam Jones waiting for a call, Forbes reported. Spring training is into its second full week of games so some may need to re-evaluate their intent for the coming season soon.
Keuchel is considered one of the last old school workhorses. Last season alone, he threw over 200 innings - something that is rarely done in the game today. These are things that are hard to overlook although at the end of the day - it still depends on the offer on the table.
