San Francisco Giants: Dallas Keuchel would bolster starting rotation

The San Francisco Giants will be looking for starting pitching help in free agency, and signing Dallas Keuchel to bolster the staff makes sense on paper.

With Madison Bumgarner headed for free agency and a collection of young arms still trying to find consistency at the MLB level, the San Francisco Giants will likely be looking to provide some veteran stability to the rotation this offseason.

Left-hander Dallas Keuchel would provide just that.

The 31-year old was solid, but not spectacular, after joining the Atlanta Braves at midseason following a lengthy stay in free agency, posting a 8-8 with a 3.57 ERA in 19 starts.

With Scott Boras as his agent, Keuchel’s stubbornness to accept anything less than what he thought he was worth didn’t come as a surprise.

Along with his agent being one of the more challenging ones to work with, Keuchel is also at a point in his career where he is rightfully looking to cash in, meaning his next contract is unlikely to be a bargain by any stretch.

However, a reliable veteran arm capable of posting a sub-4.00 ERA could make sense for the San Francisco Giants, as long as they don’t prioritize signing him over adding more pop to the lineup.

The need to add more power to the lineup has seemingly been ongoing since Barry Bonds retired. At the same time, the pitching-and-defense combo carried the team to three World Series title earlier this decade, so it’s hard to argue with that approach.

Keuchel could serve as a solid No. 2 or No. 3 starter to help starting rotation that ranked 19th in the majors with a 4.77 ERA in 2019.

Jeff Samardzija was a reliable option this past season and Johnny Cueto will presumably be healthy after returning down the stretch, giving the team the makings of a solid starting staff if someone like Keuchel were added to the mix.

From there, the back of the staff could be filled out by some combination of Tyler Beede, Logan Webb, Dereck Rodriguez and Shaun Anderson, who all saw extended MLB action in 2019.

After taking a cautious approach to the offseason in his first year in the role of president of baseball operations, it will be interesting to see if Farhan Zaidi is more active this winter. Pushing to sign a solid arm like Keuchel would represent a more aggressive approach.

The Giants definitely have other needs and Keuchel should not be their No. 1 priority, but adding a former Cy Young winner while he’s still capable of putting up good numbers certainly wouldn’t hurt the team’s 2020 outlook.

It’s also worth noting that Keuchel fills another glaring hole on the roster with his impressive beard. Let’s be honest, things just haven’t been the same since eccentric closer Brian Wilson left town.

He might not be the team’s top target this winter, but the San Francisco Giants would be wise to keep tabs on Dallas Keuchel as they look to bolster the starting rotation.