MIAMI – Veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel said he doesn’t expect to need much time tuning up in the minor leagues before he joins his new team, the Atlanta Braves.
The team confirmed Friday night that the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner had agreed to a one-year contract. He’s scheduled to pitch Saturday for Triple-A Gwinnett.
During a conference call, Keuchel said he has been pitching seven innings in simulated games in Southern California, and he’s eager to start pitching for the Braves.
“I’m built up to go five or six innings at least,” he said. “There’s no concrete timetable, but I would expect, knowing how I operate, it wouldn’t be long at all.”
Keuchel’s contract is for about $13 million. He went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA in 34 starts last season for the Houston Astros and turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer from them in November.
The two-time All-Star didn’t voice any regrets about how things turned out. He joins a team that won the National League’s East Division last year for its first title since 2013 and is in the thick of the race this season.
“They were one of the teams I had pinpointed going into free agency, with how youthful and exciting their team could be,” Keuchel said. “I’ve always been an advocate of this formula – a great mixture of veteran leadership and young talent. It could become special. Hopefully I can bring a little something extra.”
Keuchel is 31. Atlanta’s 28-and-younger rotation thus far has been led by 21-year-old rookie right-hander Mike Soroka, who improved to 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA by beating the Miami Marlins on Friday night.
Afterward, Soroka grinned when asked about the acquisition of Keuchel.
“It’s a little surreal,” Soroka said. “It’s exciting when you see a team where we’ve got so much talent and experience. To add a guy like him hopefully gives us confidence to make a run for it.”
Lefty Max Fried, 25, is 7-3 with a 3.68 ERA, but 27-year-old Mike Foltynewicz, an All-Star and a 13-game winner last year, is 1-5 with a 5.89 ERA and has allowed 15 home runs, one shy of NL leader Kyle Freeland of the Colorado Rockies. Julio Teheran, 28, is 3-4 with a 3.28 ERA. Kevin Gausman, 28, who is 2-5 with a 6.15 ERA, could be sent to the bullpen when Keuchel joins the Atlanta roster.
“He makes everybody better,” Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “The innings, the competitiveness, the experience, the winning – there are not a lot of opportunities to get guys like this. We’re real excited.”
Keuchel had 216 strikeouts during his Cy Young season but fanned only 153 batters last year, when he had a one-year deal worth $13.2 million. He is 76-63 with a 3.66 ERA in seven MLB seasons, all with the Astros.
“Any team that gets a player like that is going to be fortunate,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He has been through the wars, he has pitched in big games.”
Some teams were reluctant to sign him because of a drop in recent years in some advanced metrics, such as his percentage of swinging strikes.
Interest increased beginning Monday, when the amateur draft started and a club signing him no longer had to give up one or two draft picks and possibly international signing bonus pool allocation.
The New York Yankees offered a prorated share of the $17.9 million qualifying offer amount (about $11 million), a person familiar with their proposal said. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because New York’s offer was not made public.