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Atlanta Braves free agent profile Dallas Keuchel

By Benjamin Chase

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 16: Dallas Keuchel #60 of the Houston Astros reacts in the third inning as a play is reviewed against the Boston Red Sox during Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 16, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 16: Dallas Keuchel #60 of the Houston Astros reacts in the third inning as a play is reviewed against the Boston Red Sox during Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 16, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves
HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 29: Dallas Keuchel #60 of the Houston Astros throws a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the 2017 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Thomas B. Shea – Pool/Getty Images) /

The Cost

While Keuchel may not be as sexy as Patrick Corbin or have the velocity of Nathan Eovaldi, he has been one of the most consistent pitchers of the last half-decade. In that time, he’s 13th in total innings pitched, 9th in quality starts, and 14th in bWAR. He’s been one of the league’s best for certain, even if not doing it in a flashy way.

Keuchel is ranked as the #4 available free agent this offseason by MLB Trade Rumors, and he’s projected to get a 4-year, $82 million contract. That’d put him at $20.5 million annual average value.

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Should the Atlanta Braves do it

While that may sound steep, especially for a guy who doesn’t tally a lot of the “sexy” statistics, it’d still put Keuchel about 10th among starting pitchers in his 2019 salary, so that’s really about where he should be in earning power right now, based on his recent performance.

Keuchel will be 31 in January, so a 4-year deal would be worrisome, as it would be to any pitcher. If the Atlanta Braves could even clip a year off of that by making it something like 3 years and $65 million, it’d be preferrable.

The big thing to consider here is this – Keuchel in all of his rankings over the last five seasons is essentially 3-5 spots higher than Julio Teheran. If the Atlanta Braves are getting another Julio, but from the left-handed side, to ensure that they have 400 innings covered in 2019 and also getting a proven postseason starter, $21-22 million may not be a crazy salary for that.

Next. Braves FA profile: Bryce. dark

Should the Atlanta Braves make the move? That’s up in the air! With the signings on Monday, the Braves have committed $25 million in free agent dollars to the 2019 team and may be more focused on the trade market now, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they made a run at Keuchel.

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