In what felt like a move that was a long time coming, the White Sox have moved on from one of their struggling players. Early this afternoon the White Sox announced that they have designated Dallas Keuchel for assignment and recalled Danny Mendick from Triple-A. This does not change the 40-man roster situation, which now has one player available at 39.
Back in 2020, the White Sox agreed to terms with the left hander on a three-year, $55.5-million contract, which includes a club option for 2023 should Keuchel have pitched at least 160 innings this season. As part of this deal, Keuchel was owed $18M this season.
This move came as a surprise and not a surprise at the same time. Keuchel, 34, has been met with obstacles again this year, as through eight starts for the White Sox this year has an ERA of 7.88, a WHIP of 2.16, and a record of 2-5. Keuchel has yet to capture the success he had in his first season with the club, when he had an ERA of 1.99, a WHIP of 1.09, and a record of 6-2 which ultimately landed him a top five placement for the Cy Young Award. Keuchel’s pitches haven’t been moving as well this season, and players haven’t been fooled in awhile. This move comes after Keuchel’s second straight blowup outing, as he has surrendered six runs against both the Yankees and Red Sox in consecutive outings. He had expressed some belief in some “leeway” he had earned to figure this out, but apparently, this wasn’t the case in the front office.
Bottom line: Keuchel hasn’t been pulling his weight, and with Lance Lynn on his way back soon, there isn’t time to mess around with Keuchel and see if he can turn things around. Keuchel’s tenure with the team has been disappointing to say the least considering his strong start with the team. For a team that has World Series aspirations, this move was a long time coming.
Until Lynn returns, look for Davis Martin to potentially get some spot starts for the club, as he was impressive in his only career outing against the Royals. Vince Velasquez and Reynaldo Lopez may also see some increased action.
For some, this move may be surprising. For others, they’ve been waiting for this. For Keuchel, we will find out what’s next.
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