Yankees: Are they better off signing Dallas Keuchel or waiting and trading for an ace?

According to reports, the Yankees sent one of their top talent evaluators to see free agent Dallas Keuchel throw a sim game on Sunday. Was this just Brian Cashman and company doing their due diligence on the veteran left-hander or are they actually going to try to sign him in the coming days?

The chase for Keuchel is heating up and within the next week, there’s a good chance we’ll see him sign with a new team. That’s because after midnight on June 2nd the team that signs him will no longer be attached to any draft pick compensation. Whether or not the Yankees are going to ramp up their pursuit of Keuchel remains to be seen but it sure seems like they’re interested and will be one of the teams in the mix.

Another team who is reportedly interested in signing Keuchel are the Tampa Bay Rays who currently sit in second place in the AL East, two games behind the first place Yankees. Throughout his career, Yankees fans have watched Keuchel have a lot of success against the Bombers so it wouldn’t be out of the question for Cashman to sign him just to keep him from going to a division rival.

I’m not saying that’s the main reason why the Yankees would sign Keuchel because they could certainly use him after the injuries they’ve suffered to their starting rotation. Staff ace Luis Severino is still out with arm issues and Cashman said earlier this month that he probably won’t be back until after the All-Star break. That’s if he returns this season at all because that in itself is still no sure thing.

James Paxton and CC Sabathia are both on the IL as well but there’s hope that each of them will return this week. Jonathan Loasiga who filled in for Paxton is now on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain and Jordan Montgomery is still recovering for Tommy John surgery and won’t be back until August at the earliest.

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Domingo German has had an All-Star caliber first half up to this point but he struggled during his last start and as we get deeper into the season there’s a chance the Yankees could limit his innings. If the plan is to move German to the bullpen to pitch in long relief signing a guy like Keuhcel makes even more sense.

It also does if Sevy never comes back or if he isn’t the same pitcher upon his return. Part of me thinks the Yankees would prefer to wait and see what the deal is with Sevy before deciding to sign Keuchel but the problem is if they wait too long he’ll probably be gone and sign with another team.

For that reason, the Yanks might be better off seeing how things play out with Sevy and if they know he’s not coming back than they can shift their focus to acquiring another starter via trade. Mike Minor and Madison Bumgarner are two names that come to mind who could interest them. We’re still just over two months away from the July 31st deadline and right now I don’t think either the Rangers or Giants are ready to listen to trade offers but by July they likely will be.

We’ll also almost definitely know by then where things stand with Sevy. If he comes back and returns to his All-Star form he’s better than anyone they could acquire in a trade. Therefore the need to sign Keuchel or trade away valuable prospects for a front line starter wouldn’t be as necessary.