As I write this, the 2019 MLB season is now underway.
But two notable free agent pitchers in the prime of their careers do not wear a big league uniform - Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel.
Keuchel, 31, won the AL Cy Young Award in 2015 and earned a World Series ring with the Houston Astros in 2017 while Kimbrel, who turns 31 in May, earned a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox last year and enters 2019 with 333 career saves, 14th on the all-time MLB list.
For his part, Keuchel says he is waiting for the right offer. The Houston Astros, with whom Keuchel has spent his entire big league career, made him a qualifying offer of $17.9 million which he declined. Ditto for Kimbrel. Wherever they end up I suspect neither will make anything close to that kind of money.
Methinks that Kimbrel is more likely to be signed first as the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers are interested and possibly the Washington Nationals. Speculation was that Keuchel would end up in a New York Yankees uniform, but that speculation went out the window when they signed Gio Gonzalez. Although if Gonzalez is ineffective or doesn't make the Yankees roster by the end of April, Keuchel could be an option.
Honestly, it would not surprise me if Kimbrel and Keuchel end up back where they started in Boston and in Houston. The Red Sox break spring training without a closer and unless someone steps up they will be knocking on Kimbrel's door very soon. The Astros have a first rate starting rotation, but injuries can pop up at anytime. If either Justin Verlander or Gerrit Cole went down, Keuchel is a very good insurance policy. But if Keuchel does return to Houston he will want a sweet deal. After all, the Astros just extended Verlander for $66 million through 2021. Keuchel won't get that kind of money, but he will want something comparable.
So it all comes down to money. If supply and demand can't meet then Keuchel and Kimbrel could spend 2019 off the pitching mound.
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