KC Royals make shocking move to add former Cy Young winner on minor league deal

The Kansas City Royals continued to make waves in the midseason free agent market on Wednesday, announcing that they'd signed a former Cy Young award winner in Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract.

The 37-year-old southpaw marks the sixth notable veteran arm the Royals have signed since the 2025 season kicked off, joining the likes of former Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer, 20-year MLB journeyman Rich Hill, as well as relievers Trevor Richards, Stephen Nogosek and John Gant.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that signing comes off the heels of a workout that was held last week. He also mentions that Keuchel would be heading to Triple-A Omaha, but "if he gets to the big leagues [he] would make $2 million" in prorated salary.

KC Royals add former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel to the pitching depth fold

Keuchel sported an illustrious career in his early days with the Houston Astros. He debuted in 2012 but really broke onto the scene in 2014, pitching to his first of four sub-3.00 ERA seasons in his career.

The next season was where things really changed for Keuchel, as he established himself into one of the league's most formidable arms. This was the year he not only made his first All-Star appearance, but his 20-8 record with a 2.48 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 1.02 WHIP and .216 BAA would net him that aforementioned AL Cy Young award.

After making his second All-Star appearance in 2017, he'd leave the Astros upon the conclusion of the 2018 campaign and sign for the Atlanta Braves midseason in 2019. Keuchel would then go on to sign with the Chicago White Sox in 2020. In this time span, he'd continue to craft solid seasons through COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

After that, between numerous injuries and just simply aging, Keuchel was not the same arm he once was in in the mid-2010s, bouncing around from team to team and never throwing to an ERA under 5.00 from 2021 onward. He became quite the journeyman, pitching another year-and-a-half with the White Sox before spending time with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers through 2024. He also spent part of 2024 in Chiba Lotte of NPB, pitching to a 3.60 ERA in eight games.

Should he make the Royals roster this season, it would mark the eighth big league team he will have taken the mound for. For now though, he'll spend time in Omaha, as the Royals rotation, even with the loss of Cole Ragans to the IL, is still fully occupied and thriving.

Major league capable depth is never a bad thing though, especially around this time of year. The Royals have still yet to decide whether or not they will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, so if they opt to sell and focus on 2026, expiring contracts like Seth Lugo and Michael Lorenzen could be on their way out of town, meaning the need to occupy those rotation spots would suddenly be present.

How Keuchel will perform in the Royals organization remains to be seen. His recent big league track record would suggest that Royals fans shouldn't get their hopes high, but it is important to note that in his workout last week, Passan also reported that Keuchel was getting up to 92 mph with his fastball. Not earth-shattering by any means, but not too shabby for a 37-year-old veteran.