Brewers Acquire Starting Pitcher Dallas Keuchel In Trade From Mariners

In a surprise move by the Milwaukee Brewers, Dallas Keuchel was acquired Tuesday afternoon from the Seattle Mariners for cash considerations. The 36-year-old left-handed starter has not seen the majors this year but does have lots of major league experience. He’s thrown over 1,625 innings across 12 seasons and six different teams, most recently the Minnesota Twins in the 2023 season, where he was… fine. 

Appearing in just ten games (six of those starts) in the last two months of the season for the Twins, Keuchel pitched 37.2 innings for an ERA of 5.97. Although high, a significant amount of that damage comes from his second start, which was on short rest against the World Series-winning Texas Rangers in Texas. He was excellent in the minor leagues for Minnesota before being called up.

He has been fine again this season in Triple-A for the Mariners organization. Keuchel has started 13 games for an ERA of 3.93 and WHIP of 1.211, though most importantly for Milwaukee, he averages 5.5 innings per appearance this year. Formerly a true ace, the two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glover was a Cy Young Award winner in 2015 and a fixture of the top of a rotation up from his breakout season in 2013 until 2020. He is known as a grinder.

The Milwaukee Brewers have used 12 different starters this year and are desperate for stability in their rotation, especially since DL Hall is now on the 60-day injured list. Keuchel will give the team five, maybe six innings, which is valuable for the team with an average of only 4.8 innings per start, ahead of only the San Francisco Giants. 

Dallas Keuchel offers four pitches: a sinker, changeup, cutter, and two types of sliders. He mostly relies on his sinker and changeup. He is not the same pitcher as a couple of years ago, but he can be a valuable asset for a team that needs outs.