Houston Astros Former Cy Young Winner Signs Deal With Seattle Mariners

The Houston Astros might be facing off against one of their former star pitchers this season after he signed a deal with their division rivals.

Oct 7, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Dallas Keuchel (60) looks on during batting practice before the game against the Houston Astros during game one of the ALDS for the 2023 MLB playoffs at Minute Maid Park. / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 season has not gotten off to the start that the Houston Astros players, organization, and fans were hoping for, and it's been shocking to a lot of people around the MLB.

With the starting pitching staff already banged up, it's been the bullpen that has had some major struggles to start the year, including their high-priced addition Josh Hader who blew a save on Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Home losses were the overarching story surrounding the Astros last season, and that continues to be the case early on as they sit with a 1-5 record.

The division race came down to the very last day in 2023, and based on how things have gone so far, there's a chance that same thing occurs during this campaign.

After the dominance that Houston has shown over the years, their division rivals have begun to push them as the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners continue to improve. With young talent prevalent on both of their rosters, that likely will be the case again.

Former Astros Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel has decided to join one of their rivals after Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported he signed a minor league deal with the Mariners. They plan to start him in Triple-A with the chance he'll be called up at some point.

Keuchel won the AL Cy Young in 2015 after posting the most wins in the American League with 20 and threw the most innings as well with 232.

He was an important part of the franchise's first World Series championship team in 2017 when he recorded an ERA of 2.90 in the regular season and a sub-4.00 ERA in the playoffs.

Since his dominant showing in 2020 with the Chicago White Sox, it's been a massive struggle for Keuchel as he struggled to stay on a Major League roster because of poor performance.

The 36-year-old is looking to finish out his career strong and could do so with Seattle.