Fans, what are we gonna do about Wally Bunting Dallas Keuchel?

I never thought I’d be referencing the My Blue Heaven quote in the title for Dallas Keuchel, but here we are. We, at FromThe108, were seriously hyped for the acquisition in late 2019. And in 2020, Keuchel was what we expected. Don’t worry about that playoff performance that MySoxSummer is convinced was a thrown game.

But after another disappointing outing, we have to ask ourselves, what is next for Dallas? I think we’d all agree he is not on the White Sox playoff roster at this point. He has been bad as a starter and offers little to no value as a reliever. So what can they do?

Fake IL?

This seems like a great idea at first. Put him on the IL through the end of the year and playoffs, let Reynaldo Lopez take his spot in the rotation, hope he gets healthy and looks good next spring training. Makes sense. However, that’s probably not gonna happen. If he goes to the IL, he’ll have to actually be hurt. Keuchel’s contract vests with 320 IP over the 2021-2022 seasons. He’s currently at 136.2 and could reasonably make 4-5 more starts. Scott Boras is not going to allow his client to be falsely placed on the IL when there is this kind of cash at stake. Honestly, I wouldn’t let this happen either with $20M on the line.

6 Man Rotation

Could a six man rotation actually be a possibility as rosters expand? It would certainly give the other starters a little extra rest as the Sox head towards the post-season. However, rosters don’t expand like they used to and we’re likely to see Zack Collins take one of those spots to avoid burning his option. I’d be surprised to see this happen, especially when taxing the bullpen couldn’t possibly help.

Move to the Bullpen

Dallas coming out of the bullpen might be one of the least daunting things I can think of. But it would reduce his innings based purely on performance and allow the Sox to see what ReyLo really has in terms of starting pitcher prowess. This is a real possibility. I don’t think this extends into the playoffs, but it keeps them out of the mess they’d have with Boras on a fake IL stint and it hides Keuchel from any real action.

Designate For Assignment

This would be the most drastic move, but would guarantee that option doesn’t vest. I don’t think the Sox would go with this option as there is some optionality in having Keuchel around as a possibility for the 2022 rotation. They’d have to believe that his career is over to go this route.

Which option do you think they’ll go with? Is there a scenario I missed?

-Chorizy-E