Yankees scout free agent Dallas Keuchel in simulated game

According to Erik Boland of Newsday, Dallas Keuchel has been throwing simulated games every five days in Newport Beach, California — and the Yankees recently sent one of their top scouts to evaluate the 31-year-old left-hander.

After next Monday, teams can officially sign Dallas Keuchel without giving up draft pick compensation. And while the Yankees have been linked to the former Astros starter, representatives from the Braves and Rays were also in attendance for Sunday’s rain-shortened sim game in Southern California. 

Pitching near his agent, Scott Boras’ offices, Keuchel is doing his best to stay as close to game ready as possible. However, there’s no doubt, that whenever Keuchel does sign, he’ll spend at least a few weeks at the highest level of the minor leagues to acclimate himself to MLB-lite hitters.

While I understand why Keuchel turned down the one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer from the Astros this past offseason, he and Boras clearly overvalued their hand by initially seeking a $100M contract.

Even now, reports state that Keuchel wants a multi-year deal worth more than what he dismissed. The curious part is that the longer this scouting process turned contract offering drags on, the less prorated money Keuchel will be offered — at least for the 2019 season.

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And should he inevitably decide not to sign (which I don’t believe will happen), how could he or Boras think they’d get the payday the duo wish next year?

The same can be said for seven-time All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel, whom the Braves are also kicking the tires on potentially signing.

As for the Yankees, they already know Luis Severino will be out of action until after the Mid-Summer Classic; now believe James Paxton will pitch the remainder of the season with some level of knee pain; and C.C. Sabathia is anything but reliable in this, his final season — Keuchel would be a welcome addition, at least for 2019.

Unless general manager Brian Cashman has his sights set on trading for a bonafide front of the rotation type pitcher such as Madison Bumgarner or Max Scherzer, there’s no one readily available with Keuchel’s pedigree.

With the Yankees further proving they’d prefer to hold onto their top prospects rather than deal them for aging veterans, injuries to the starting rotation are taking their toll, and the Yanks will need to be proactive if they wish to make a deep Postseason run.

Someone recently told me on Twitter that Keuchel’s numbers weren’t worth the Yanks’ investment. And while his 2018 was less than stellar (12-11 with a 3.74 ERA, 1.314 WHIP and 6.7 K/9), just one year prior, Keuchel made the AL All-Star team when he went 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA, 1.119 WHIP and 7.7 K/9.

How many of those guys are available to be signed in June? None.