I hear you. Why am I concerned about how the Yankees spend their money?
[Except, seriously, the aspect of tying up long-term salary room on free agents who are on the downhill of their careers.]
TBH, I myself forgot about Keuchel and was subsequently a bit amazed that he is still a free agent. He must have been asking for the moon and/or a couple of decades-worth of contract up until now.
Here's Rotowire's assessment of his situation:
Quote:
Still pursuing long-term deal
April 8, 2019
Keuchel continues to seek a multi-year contract in free agency or a prorated one-year deal that exceeds his $17.9 million qualifying offer, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports.
ANALYSIS
Even with a Cy Young award on his resume in addition to three seasons with sub-3.00 ERAs, Keuchel could struggle to receive what he's seeking on the open market after his strikeout and groundball rates both took notable steps back in his age-30 campaign. Moreover, Keuchel's outlook for 2019 is further muddled by the fact that he didn't have a proper spring training. While the southpaw continues to throw 95-pitch simulated games every five days as he prepares for an eventual starting role, any team that signs him would surely want to have Keuchel pitch a rehab game or two in the minors before inserting him into its rotation. With that in mind, it's probably unwise to expect Keuchel to debut at any point in April, even if his negotiations with teams gain some steam within the next few days.
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He seems to be a durable workhorse, though. 200+ innings again last year and led the league in batters faced, 874 (also hits allowed, 211).
If Rosenthal is right about a one-year prorated deal for $18MM+ being acceptable, it might be worth a shot. No 10-year, $300MM nonsense, however.