Phillies: How Dallas Keuchel could fall into their lap next winter

The New York Yankees could pursue Manny Machado next winter with the Los Angeles Dodgers targeting Bryce Harper. With those two big spenders distracted, Dallas Keuchel could fall to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Despite the recent ridiculous changes to net neutrality, next offseason’s free agency class will break the internet. There are a ton of All-Stars whose contracts expire after the 2018 season. Notable position players thought to be targeted for the Philadelphia Phillies include Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.

Both in their mid-20s, this pair of Beltway superstars are franchise-changers that would inevitably push the Phillies back into contention.

Lately, though, the Phillies no longer look like favorites to land either. Rumor has it that the New York Yankees are gearing up to possibly go after Machado with the Los Angeles Dodgers putting their resources into pursuing Harper.

We’re a year away from anything happening, but it’s worth noting for the sake of Philadelphia’s future. If those two go elsewhere, they will need to make someone else the priority.

It’s not all bad if Machado lands in the Bronx and Harper goes across the country to join the Dodgers. After all, the Phillies’ greatest need is pitching. With Machado and Harper burdening the payrolls of the Yankees and Dodgers, the Phillies may see Dallas Keuchel fall into their laps.

Keuchel is one of the league’s best pitchers. Unfortunately, the Houston Astros will have a tough time keeping him around. Recent Cy Young winners don’t come cheap. Unless they are willing to move on from Jose Altuve, it’s going to be nearly impossible to keep Keuchel in Houston.

Why Dallas Keuchel?

Back in 2014, Keuchel established himself as an ace. He went 12-9 with a 2.93 ERA for an Astros’ team teetering on contention. The following season, Keuchel went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA. Now, this won him his first Cy Young and put the Astros back in the postseason after a lengthy rebuild.

The 2016 season was rough for Keuchel, but he did rebound last year with a 14-5 record and 2.90 ERA in 23 starts. His health didn’t behave, and we only got a partial look at this dominating lefty.

There’s no reason to believe he’ll give us anything less than his best next year especially now that he has a big fat World Series ring on his finger.

The Phillies need to land an ace outside the organization by some means. A trade would decimate the farm system and likely even hurt the big league roster. So, the next move is to spend money. Why not use it for locking up the best pitcher available?

More from Call to the Pen

Not many of the Phillies pitchers have developed into MLB arms quite yet. Aaron Nola is the only one with the pedigree to waltz into Spring Training knowing he’ll have a spot in the rotation.

The rest will need to battle it out with some falling into the bullpen and others seeing a demotion to Triple-A in their future.

Nola can’t carry this starting staff on his own. The Phillies number one starter is not an ace quite yet.

No matter how great their bullpen is, Philadelphia will need a valid stud starter if they want any shot at a championship. Keuchel looks like the surest bet.

We could always feel shockwaves and see the Phillies ink one of the remaining free agent pitchers this offseason.

Less likely, they go out and make a trade for someone like Chris Archer or Gerrit Cole. That’s a little too risky at the moment since they would essentially need to reverse the Cole Hamels trade to make it happen.

Next: Stephen Piscotty trade bigger than baseball

When the 2019 MLB season opens up, one of the league’s best pitchers will have a job with the Philadelphia Phillies. The timing of Keuchel’s free agent season fits all too perfectly with the Phillies plans.

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