Braves Reportedly Emerge as Frontrunners for Dallas Keuchel

Dallas Keuchel's extended stint in free agency looks to be on the verge of coming to a close. Keuchel, who is (unsurprisingly) represented by agent Scott Boras, has held off on signing with a team for the first 60-plus games of the season in pursuit of a fair long-term contract.

Now that the MLB Draft has passed, teams are free to lobby for the lefty's services without worry of losing a draft pick as a result. With the Keuchel sweepstakes heating up, MLB Network insider Mark Feinsand reported that the Atlanta Braves are considered the frontrunners to sign the former AL Cy Young.

Keuchel would be a great fit for the Braves, who have dealt with extended struggles from starters Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman this season, as well as various injuries to key pitchers. Atlanta's pitching staff is ranked 9th in the NL in fewest runs allowed, and that will need to improve if they hope to catch the first-place Phillies, who currently hold a 1.5-game division lead.

At the very least, Keuchel would provide a reliable back-end arm to beef up Atlanta's pitching depth. At best, he could return to his 2017 form when he went 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA and appeared in the All-Star game.

Atlanta looks to be in competition with the New York Yankees for Keuchel's talents, and the Braves could have one strong advantage: Keuchel would have to shave his beard if he signed with the all-business Yanks. He already made it clear he'd be willing to break out the razor if necessary, but maybe he'd prefer to keep his signature look.

Across his seven seasons in the big leagues, Keuchel has compiled a 76-63 record with a 3.66 ERA and 945 strikeouts across 1,189.1 innings pitched. He's been a Gold Glove winner four times in his career, and made the AL All-Star team twice, in 2015 and 2017.