Why the St. Louis Cardinals should sign Dallas Keuchel

Dallas Keuchel was just designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. Here’s why the Cardinals should take a look.

Dallas Keuchel’s 2022 season has been nothing short of a nightmare. With an ERA approaching 8 and a WHIP of 2.156, it’s understandable why the White Sox let go of him. If Keuchel was signed by the Cardinals, Mike Maddux would present an avenue to get his career back on track.

Keuchel is posting numbers that are easily career-worst, but a change of scenery would benefit him. Guaranteed Rate Field isn’t exactly a bona-ride pitcher’s ballpark like Busch Stadium III. In addition, Keuchel’s FIP is one run less than his ERA. It’s still a career worst, but there is some bad luck there.

Last year, the Cardinals traded for a older, left-handed pitcher who’s FIP was one run lower than his actual ERA but still had posted -1.7 WAR for an AL Central team. Sound familiar?

When the team traded for J.A. Happ last season, many fans and media members questioned why for the reasons listed above. After coming to St. Louis, Happ’s ERA went down to 4.00 and his ERA+ rose from 62 to 100.

If Mike Maddux can help Keuchel turn things around, it will pay dividends for the Cardinals starting pitching rotation. The Jordan Hicks experiment is close to failure right now, and Jack Flaherty’s return date is unknown. When Steven Matz went down with a shoulder injury, Matthew Liberatore was called back up.

While Liberatore pitched five shutout innings against Milwaukee on Saturday, the plan was for him to go back to Memphis. So with Matz on the 10-day IL, Hicks possibly going back to the bullpen, and Flaherty’s return up in the air, the Cardinals might want to shore up on starting pitching. Here’s where Keuchel comes in.

Keuchel is not going to return to his 2015 dominance, but a change of scenery for him would benefit keeping his career going. The Cardinals have questions about the back end of the rotation. If Keuchel can get his ground ball magic working with the Cardinals’ infield, he’ll become a big asset for the starting rotation.