Dallas Keuchel hasn't thrown a big league pitch since a rough 4-start stint with the Brewers back in 2024, but apparently that's not enough to make him hang it up. Jeff Passan broke the news that Keuchel and the Athletics agreed to a minor league contract, with the veteran lefty set to report to Triple-A and try to work his way back.
Jeff Passan broke the news of Keuchel's minor league agreement with the A's.
Former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel and the A’s are in agreement on a minor league contract, sources tell ESPN. Keuchel, 38, will report to Triple-A. He last pitched in the big leagues with Milwaukee in 2024.
For anyone who needs the refresher: Keuchel is 11 years removed from being the best pitcher in the American League. He won the 2015 Cy Young with the Astros, going 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA, made 2 All-Star teams, and was a key piece of Houston's 2017 World Series run. That version of Keuchel — sinker-slider, ground-ball machine, funky delivery — feels like a lifetime ago at this point.
The last several years have been a grind. Since leaving Houston in 2018, Keuchel has bounced through Atlanta, the White Sox, Arizona, Texas, Minnesota and Milwaukee, chasing whatever innings he can find. His most recent MLB look came with the Brewers in 2024, when he made just 4 starts and got roughed up to the tune of a 5.40 ERA before getting cut loose. He spent last season trying to pitch his way back in the Royals' system without ever getting the call.
MLB Trade Rumors confirmed the minor league agreement shortly after Passan's report.
Now it's Oakland's — well, the A's — turn to take a flier. This is the kind of low-cost, no-risk deal every rebuilding club runs every summer: sign a name with a track record, stash him in Triple-A, see if there's anything left in the tank, and worst case you've lost nothing. For the A's, who are still figuring out their pitching depth as they build toward their new home in Las Vegas, adding a savvy vet who's forgotten more about pitching than most of their farmhands ever learned isn't a bad bet.
Whether Keuchel actually sniffs the majors again is another question entirely. He's 38, hasn't been effective in the big leagues in years, and the league has passed him by stuff-wise more than once already. But this is a guy who's made a career out of getting outs without velocity, and if there's one thing to respect here, it's that he's still betting on himself. Worth tracking how he looks in Triple-A over the next month — that'll tell you everything about whether this comeback has legs.