Atlanta Braves sign former-Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel per report

It’s not going to make every Atlanta Braves fan happy, but it will bring some relief to a lot more after recent (pitching) events.

Thursday was a long day for the Atlanta Braves. First, they had a day game the day after playing a late weather-delay game which they lost.

The starter, Kevin Gausman, allowed all seven runs in five innings on Wednesday night. Then, for the Thursday day game, they were blown out in a 6-1 lost with Mike Foltynewicz allowing two homers.

To add to that, talk started to build that the Braves were in talks with free agent LHP Dallas Keuchel and the talk spread like gossip at a church picnic when reports came out that the club had jumped the line as front-runners for the former Cy Young winner.

It came the day after former-Braves and then-FA, Craig Kimbrel, had signed with the Chicago Cubs; another name that many heard the Braves were linked to in some capacity, at least in consideration.

So when the news broke that the closer was signing with the Cubs, some saw this as the final straw for hope in the Braves spending on the FA market and didn’t bother with the Keuchel talks.

Well…it seems that those talks have come to fruition:

Yes, you read that right. The Braves are going to be spending some more money to hopefully fix a recurring problem…even if temporary.

The 31-year-old spent spent seven seasons with the Houston Astros where he collected a Cy Young award, four Gold Gloves, and a World Series ring.

What Now?

So now, we’re just waiting for the Atlanta Braves to officially announce it and other details (how much they’re paying him and for how long). That shouldn’t take long.

Well that was fast…while writing, news broke on what the deal is:

Bless my soul, the Atlanta Braves outbid the New York Yankees.

So when the Braves make their announcement, then, comes the roster moves to go with it. They’ll need a spot in the rotation.

Right now, the clear thorns are Gausman and Foltynewicz. Folty is coming off an injury that’s kept him out most of the season so far so he’ll get a pass…for now. I think the youngsters like Touki Toussaint and Max Fried are also fine for now.

Which means the decision will be on Gausman. The Braves can DFA him if they deem the experiment over or “add” him to the injury list if they still see potential. I would prefer the latter, solely on what he did last season and for depth purposes this early in the season.  Another option would include a bullpen trial.

Also, Keuchel will need to have some assignment/spot starts down in the minors before he joins the roster and starts for the main club, and those terms have been reported too.

So what are your thoughts on this move? Are you for it? Against it? Wish it was a longer deal? Wish they are paying him a different amount? Still wish they signed Kimbrel (me too)?