MLB: Atlanta Makes Brave Move By Signing Dallas Keuchel

With the MLB amateur draft over and done with, top names in MLB free agency are starting to sign on the dotted line. The latest one to do so is Dallas Keuchel who will reportedly be joining the Atlanta Braves on a one-year deal worth about $13 million. He is the latest high profile name to be signed following Craig Kimbrel who has gone to the Chicago Cubs.

The 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner and 2017 World Series Champion will thus be with the Braves until the end of the season. To make room for his coming, the Braves moved Darren O'Day to the 60-day injured list, Yahoo Sports reported. And while there are critics who see the short-term investment as high-risk, Braves manager Brian Snitker feels that he is a prized addition to the team.

"I think he's equipped, and he's been through the wars. He's pitched in big games, won a Cy Young. I think any team that gets him is going to be better for having him on their club," said Snitker.

As far as his numbers, Keuchel owns a 3.77 ERA, posting 3.74 ERA over 34 starts for the Astros in 2018. Also, the 31-year-old pitcher surrendered a .263 batting average and a .704 OPS. According to the Associated Press, the move should be made official once Keuchel passes a physical on Friday. His contract would include a salary of about $21.21 million and he would get a prorated share amounting to about $13 million because only 114 days remain in the 186-day season.

Keuchel was one of the last big names available in the market after Kimbrel agreed to join the Cubs. As mentioned in a previous post, Kimbrel agreed to a multi-year deal with Chicago reportedly worth about $45 million. Curiously, the deal came a bit of a surprise since the Cubs were not among the teams mentioned as being interested in the 31-year-old pitcher. One of those teams were the Braves as well as the Milwaukee Brewers and the Minnesota Twins.

Some teams were reluctant to sign Keuchel due to a drop in performance the past years. That included a dip in percentages of swing and misses. The Braves seem to think otherwise, believing that Keuchel brings the consistency and stability that the franchise needs as they try and defend their MLB division title.