Houston Astros: The potential impact of Scott Boras recruitment efforts
1. Dallas Keuchel
Dallas Keuchel is one of the best left handed starters in the game today. He conducts himself with a poise and grace that is nearly unmatched by anyone in all of MLB. Even with Justin Verlander now on the team, Keuchel is still the ace of this Houston Astros squad.
This is evident by his 2015 Cy Young year, in which he has a postseason ERA of 0.91 and a regular season one of 2.48. Consequently, this is also the year the Houston Astros made the turn around. They made the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade, and Keuchel was a huge part of that.
Even still, the next two seasons to follow would be somewhat concerning. Both 2016 and last year’s championship year saw the southpaw have multiple stints on the DL. As a result, his numbers began to shake up a little bit.
An ERA of nearly 5 in 2016 was disheartening. But Keuchel did turn it around last year with a 2.90 ERA, which is pretty close to what he did his Cy Young year. The question remains: Can the lefty return completely to, or even better than, 2015?
Show Him the Money? Well….That Depends.
2018 will most certainly be the test year to see if Dallas Keuchel has a multi year deal in his future. If he can avoid one lengthy stint, or even multiple short stints, on the DL, the odds will be ever in his favor. Even more so if he can get his ERA back below 2.50.
However, Scott Boras will come into play, having recently taken on the southpaw as a new client. Keuchel is expected to get around $12.5 million next season, and perhaps $15 million/yr as a free agent if he elects to hit the market next winter.
With the reputation that Scott Boras has in the league and industry, don’t be surprised if he demands Keuchel be signed for well more than $20 million/year. If that’s the case, Kid Keuchy as he’s famously called on Twitter, may end up moving on to greener pastures.
To be honest though, does it get any greener than a World Series Championship team? Only time will tell.