Philadelphia Phillies would be wise to avoid five-year request by Dallas Keuchel

As great as it would be to add Dallas Keuchel to the rotation, the Philadelphia Phillies would be wise to give in to his demands for a five-year deal.

While Philadelphia Phillies fans continue to patiently wait for any sort of news surrounding a potential deal for Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, Dallas Keuchel is a name who has entered the conversation in recent weeks as a potential target for Gabe Kapler‘s squad.

Despite the concerns over the 30-year-old being up there in age, Keuchel has proven over the last couple of years as a member of the Houston Astros that he could still bring plenty to the table in 2019.

Some fans may find it concerning that Keuchel’s record this past season was only 12-11, but also those same fans need to remember what he was able to accomplish the year before.

As Astros fans know, Keuchel played a valuable role in the team finally winning the World Series in 2017 by going 14-5 during the regular season.

For the Phillies, just the thought of Keuchel joining a rotation that already consists of Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta will put a smile on the face of any Philadelphia fan.

With that being said, despite the interest expressed by the Phillies in recent weeks, it appears signing Keuchel may not be all that easy when seeing how the two sides don’t seem to be on the same page contract wise.

From Philadelphia’s perspective, it’s completely understandable why the team isn’t jumping the gun on signing Keuchel to this kind of contract since five years for a pitcher who will be 31 at the start of spring training is a big commitment.

If anything, the Phillies seem like they would be better off going with a contract similar to Arrieta (three-year deal) when it comes to Keuchel, although that’s always easier said than done if he’s going to continue pushing for that five-year contract.

Only time will tell when it comes to seeing whether Philadelphia can convince Keuchel to come on board, but on a positive note, at least this continues to show the aggressive approach by the Phillies when it comes to bringing on additional talent for the 2019 season.

After collapsing over the final two months of this past season, Philadelphia has made it clear they will be in much better shape this time around when it comes to being serious contenders in the National League. And if they can convince Keuchel to come on board with a different contract, it will only put the Phillies in better shape to make it happen.