Twins whiff on free agents as Keuchel signs with Braves

The Minnesota Twins pushed hard to sign both Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, but wound up with neither as Keuchel signed with the Braves on Thursday night.

The Minnesota Twins need pitching help and throughout the past couple of days, they pushed hard to add two coveted free agents that fit the bill. As Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel both saw their market heat up after Monday’s MLB Draft, the Twins were front and center in an attempt to land either pitcher to make a push in the American League.

The Twins efforts were not fruitful, however, as they lost out on Kimbrel to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. On Thursday, they came up short in their pursuit for Keuchel as well with the left-hander signing a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves according to The Athletic’s David O’Brien. The deal is reportedly worth $13 million according to Yahoo Sports Tim Brown.

Minnesota was rumored to be in the mix for Keuchel, but the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s La Velle E. Neal reported earlier in the week that while the Twins were interested, they weren’t as interested as they were in acquiring Kimbrel. That could have been the difference in this race as the Braves may have simply outbid the Twins for the 31-year old’s services.

While the Twins missed out on Keuchel, it may not have been as much of a blow as it was missing out on Kimbrel thank’s to Keuchel’s recent injury history. With Keuchel out of the picture, the Twins will likely turn to a trade market that could see Minnesota reach out to acquire Toronto’s Marcus Stroman or San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner.

Either way, the Twins will likely need to be aggressive in order to help this team reach its suddenly lofty potential.