Dallas Keuchel To Debut in Rangers System

The former Cy Young winner was signed by the Rangers last week to a minor-league deal.

New Texas Rangers acquisition Dallas Keuchel appears to be on his way to making his first start for Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.

Keuchel is listed as the probable starter for the Express on its website. Round Rock is set to face Sugar Land at 7:05 p.m.

Keuchel signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers last week.

The move came as the Rangers had put together two reliable veteran starters in Martin Pérez — their only All-Star pitcher this season — and Jon Gray, who joined the Rangers on a four-year, $56 million contract last offseason. Pérez is one a one-year, $4 million deal, but the Rangers are open to an extension. Pérez started his career with Texas and returned to the franchise after three seasons in Boston and Minnesota from 2019-21.

Gray, meanwhile, left Monday’s game with what the Rangers termed left side discomfort after throwing a pitch in the second inning against Baltimore’s Anthony Santander.

But the rest of the rotation is filled with young starters like Glenn Otto, Spencer Howard and Dane Dunning, all of whom have shown flashes of solid pitching but have been inconsistent all season.

Keuchel made 12 starts for the Chicago White Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 and has a 2-7 record with an 8.53 ERA.

Signing Keuchel is a flier and a hope that he can reclaim the form that made him one of the game’s best pitchers. The 34-year-old won the 2015 American League Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros. He is also a two-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove Award winner.

He has a career record of 101-89, with his Cy Young season being his best. He went 20-8 that year with a 2.48 ERA.

Keuchel hasn’t had any significant injury issues in his career, but he hasn’t won at least 10 games since the 12 he won with the Houston Astros in 2018.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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