Dallas Keuchel, the veteran left-hander best remembered for his dominant years with the Houston Astros, has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Athletics, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The 38-year-old will report to the club’s Triple-A affiliate as he looks to extend a career that has already spanned more than a decade in the majors.
Keuchel last appeared in a big-league game during the 2024 season while pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers. Before that, he bounced around several organizations after leaving Houston, including stops with the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins.
His body of work remains impressive: across 13 seasons and 282 games he has compiled a 103-92 record with a 4.04 earned-run average.
The bulk of his legacy was built in Houston. Selected by the Astros in the seventh round of the 2009 draft, Keuchel spent his first seven professional seasons with the club.
During that stretch he earned two All-Star selections, captured the 2015 American League Cy Young Award and played a key role in the franchise’s first World Series championship in 2017. Those accomplishments cemented his place among the most successful pitchers in modern Astros history.
Throughout his tenure in Houston, Keuchel managed a 3.66 ERA over 192 appearances and 183 starts. He then faded as he bounced around between a plethora of clubs during the latter stages of his career.
At an age when many pitchers have already retired, Keuchel’s decision to continue shows both determination and a willingness to prove he still belongs.
The Athletics, for their part, are adding a proven competitor who knows how to navigate the challenges of a long season, but it’s also a rather odd move for a team that has fallen completely out of contention.
Perhaps the A’s are seeking to quickly flip him at the trade deadline.
Whether the veteran ultimately reaches the major-league roster remains to be seen, but the opportunity itself keeps alive the possibility of one more chapter for a pitcher who once stood among the game’s elite.
Definitely a strange move, though.
