Every-Thing Sports
Jermaine Every: Now do you believe me that it is time to trade Dallas Keuchel?
Jun 12, 2018, 6:54 am
Dallas Keuchel helped win a World Series, but he has struggled this season. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Dallas Keuchel has been hot dumpster juice all season long. His record stands at a paltry 3-8, with an equally disappointing 4.45 ERA. This comes on the heels of a four and one third inning outing against the baseball team in North Texas (I refuse to acknowledge them by their name after what they did during Harvey). He gave up 13 hits, six runs (five of those earned), and only three strikeouts.
Perhaps the worst part of his outing was his comments post game. He mentioned that “11 of those hits should have been outs.” Is it just me, or does that sound like he’s making excuses? Or is he perhaps throwing shade at his teammates? Either way, it’s not a good look for a guy who won the American League Cy Young Award in 2015 and who’s heading to free agency this offseason.
About two months ago, I did a Hot Take video for the site saying the Astros should trade Keuchel at the deadline this year. My premise was that he’s 30 years old, heading into free agency, and the team doesn’t appear eager to resign him to the type of deal he would want. They also have a true ace in Justin Verlander, traded for Gerrit Cole, and have a few young live arms (looking at you Lance McCullers) to help carry the pitching staff moving forward. Why not move him and get something for him, instead of watching him leave and get nothing in return except a compensatory draft pick? Makes sense right?
However, I was met with all kinds of rebuttals and responses as to why I’m crazy, why that’s a bad idea, and why this wouldn’t work. “HEY KOBE, TELL ME HOW MY ASS TASTE!” Now who’s crazy? Whose idea is bad now? Whose trade won’t work? Still think they need to keep him?
This is one of those things in which I cannot stand being right. The rest of the pitching staff has been unbelievably good. Justin Verlander, Cole, and Charlie Morton are all in the A.L. top ten in ERA. At one point not too long ago, they were the top three. McCullers has been pretty good as well, minus a couple bad starts. These guys have held it down for the team, while Keuchel has dragged the pitching staff’s numbers down.
Now that he’s dramatically reduced his value, it is truly time for the Astros to trade him. The team needs to get whatever scraps they can get for him because they for sure aren’t going to resign him now. He was a soft-tossing lefty who relied on placing the ball wherever he needed to in order to get outs. Now, he’s been reduced to an even softer tossing lefty that can’t locate his pitches to save his life. He’s got to go!
General Manager Jeff Luhnow has done a fantastic job restocking the team’s minor league system. They still have a lot of good prospects left after the Verlander and Cole trades. It’s still early enough in the season to call up one of those youngsters and get him some action on the big league level. Maybe not in the starting rotation, so how about the bullpen? Colin Mchugh and/or Brad Peacock can start and give them better than what Keuchel is giving them now. Or why not allow a young arm to come up and start? I’m pretty sure Forrest Whitley or J.B. Bukauskas can give you what Keuchel is giving you while gaining valuable reps at the major league level.
Some may argue that Keuchel is “owed” his position. Whether it’s due to his tenure with the organization, or his past successes, people will feel nostalgic about him. While he has been through the down times and led the resurgence, it’s time to part ways. The organization has positioned itself to compete for the next few years. Whether it’s through a trade or refusal to meet his contract demands, the Astros and Keuchel are headed for an end. Why not put the dog down rather than have it lingering in pain? Be humane Astros. Put the dog down.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.