The Minnesota Twins have stood atop the AL Central standings for much of the season thanks in part to the team's stellar pitching depth.
Part of that pitching depth is former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel, who tossed five scoreless innings in relief in a win on Sunday. It was Keuchel's first appearance out of the bullpen since Oct. 2021. He prefers to start but will do whatever the Twins ask him to.
“Would I like to relieve? Not really,” Keuchel said, via Dan Hayes. “At the same time, I want to win. I made that clear with why I wanted to stick in Minnesota. This is kind of what we could do. I just want to be a part of something.”
Keuhel signed a minor league contract with the Twins on June 22 and made his debut on Aug. 6. He allowed one run in five innings during his debut before getting shelled in his second start in which he surrendered six runs and was pulled in the second inning.
He's tossed 11.1 consecutive scoreless innings since then, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning in one of his starts.
Dallas Keuchel is not the same pitcher he once was, as evidenced by his 6.13 ERA since the start of the 2021 season. He's pitched for four different teams during that span and has yet to find a long-term home.
The Twins may not be sure how they are going to utilize Keuchel or their other pitchers for the rest of the regular season. Whatever they decide, they'll likely do it with October in mind as the Twins are destined for the playoffs.