At his best during his time at the Chicago White Sox, Dallas Kuchel presented himself as a candidate for the Sai Young Award.
But the left-hander could not find consistency in the second half of last season and the beginning of 2022, and the Sox on Saturday determined his appointment.
Keuchel had a 2-5 record and a 7.88 ERA with 20 outs in eight starts this season.
“Given the back of the baseball card, so to speak, we wanted to give him the opportunity this season to show that he is able to get back on track,” said Sox general manager Rick Hahn. “There weren’t necessarily a magical number of starts that were needed before we made that decision, and in fact, although we’ve been talking about it internally for a while, his starts against New York at home (on May 14) and Boston at Fenway (on May 8) were impressive enough to continue giving him the ball.
“Obviously the trend of the last few (starts), especially (Thursday) night, was enough to say it’s time to try something else in this place.”
Before the start of the series tonight against the Chicago Cubs, #WhiteSox appointed left-handed pitcher Dallas Kechel as their appointment and called up AAA Charlotte’s Danny Mendick.
– Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 28, 2022
The left-hander, who won the American League’s Cy Young Award in 2015 with Houston Astros, was an important addition, agreeing to a three-year deal worth $ 55.5 million on December 30, 2019. The contract included a 2023 team option. .
The 34-year-old Kuchel played 17-16 with a 4.79 ERA in 51 appearances (49 starts) for the Sox.
“He has something to be proud of,” said Sox manager Tony La Rusa. “Since I’ve been here, he hasn’t had a single race to compete, which is the last resort. I understand that he felt he could do better, he had to do better. But I don’t think anyone in that uniform would trade their career for the next 10 or 12 years for what they did.
“I think he is healthier this year than last. He has matches left, he has to leave if there is a team that is interested in him. “
He finished fifth in the AL Cy Young poll in the pandemic 2020 shortened season, scoring 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 11 starts.
Keuchel was 9-9 with a 5.28 ERA in 32 outings (30 starts) last season. Keuchel, who won the AL Gold Glove in 2021, scored 6-1 with a 3.78 ERA in his first 14 starts and was 3-8 with a 6.70 ERA in his last 18 outings. He was placed in the taxi team for the American League Division series against Astros.
During spring training, Keuchel said the end of 2021 had left a “sour taste” and he started throwing earlier in the off-season than usual to prepare in hopes of a rebound season.
He won his 100th career victory on April 13 against the Seattle Mariners. He allowed 10 runs, seven wins, with 10 hits with one walk in one plus innings on his next outing on April 20 in Cleveland. He came out after facing 11 batters in the second. The Sox made four mistakes in the 11-1 loss in the first double-header match.
Keuchel has allowed at least six runs in three of his eight starts this season.
“We certainly got what we expected in 2020 and the first half of the 21st,” Khan said. “He was what we expected when we signed with him and unfortunately the second half of his career at the White Sox did not turn out the way we hoped. With each signing of a free agent there is a certain level of expectations, but there are also reasonable forecasts on our part, at least in terms of potential decline. In this case, I would say that the decline was a little sharper in the end than we expected.
Kuchel had strong outings in Boston this month (two runs in six innings on May 8) and against the New York Yankees (five excluded innings on May 14) before fighting the Yankees on May 21 at the Yankee Stadium (six runs in four innings). and Thursday against the Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field (six runs in two innings).
“This club, for the first time in the history of the franchise, made the post-season in consecutive seasons in ’20 and ’21 and this will most likely not happen without Dallas’ contribution during those two seasons,” said Khan. “Obviously in 2020 He was in the top five for Sai Young last year, especially in the first half, he achieved some important victories for us, I remember (one) against Toronto and Tampa (June 10 and 15) in our country, so he certainly fulfill for the first half of this contract what we were looking for.
The length of this season, with the exception of some impressive performances against Boston and New York, as well as many of the starts in the second half of last year, has shown that he is not fully up to the task of what we needed him this year. So while we certainly wish him success at his next stop. I just want to make sure that his contribution will not be lost here, because people are focusing on removing him from the club. “
In the corresponding move on Saturday, the Sox called up player Danny Mendick of Triple-A Charlotte.
Separately, outfielder Eloy Jimenez began rehabilitation on Saturday with Charlotte in Durham, North Carolina. Jimenez suffered an injury on April 23, which required surgery to repair a torn knee tendon behind his right knee.
He made a 1-for-2 on Saturday, but came out after a field on the right in the second inning with pain in his right leg. The Sox said it was day to day.
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