Both the Rays and Yankees are keeping an eye on Dallas Keuchel.
Tampa Bay and New York could get in a bidding war for the 2015 American League Cy Young winner at midnight on June 2, according to The Athletic.
The odd timing is due to Keuchel getting a qualifying offer by the Astros, meaning if a team signs him they would have to give up their first selection in the MLB Draft this season. The draft pick compensation comes off of Keuchel on June 2 and then any team can pick him up without giving up a selection, or the slot money that comes with it.
The Yankees would lose the 38th pick and $1.952 million of slot money if they were to sign Keuchel before June 2 while the Rays would have to give up the No. 40 selection and $1.857 million.
Tampa Bay has the best pitching staff in MLB having allowed fewer runs than any team in baseball. But Blake Snell has struggled to replicate his Cy Young performance from a year ago, Tyler Glasnow is on the injured list and Charlie Morton struggled down the stretch last season, so the addition of Keuchel would help the team's depth.
As for New York, its injury problems have been well documented. Luis Severino still hasn't thrown a pitch this year, CC Sabathia and James Paxton are currently on the IL and the Yankees traded away one of their top pitching prospects in Justus Sheffield during the offseason.
Keuchel makes sense for both teams, it's just a matter of who will fork over the money the lefty wants.
And make no mistake, the former Astro isn't settling for anything less than he's worth.
“Why succumb to teams that think you’re needy and you’re willing to accept a lesser offer than your market value?" Keuchel told Yahoo Sports in early May. "It’s all relative. If you’re at work and you’re killing your job, nine to five every day, and you get another offer that’s less, why would you accept that offer?”
He continued: "My asking price and my due diligence is not just out of left field. It has come to me through my own career path, my own career numbers, and then what my market is valued at this point in time. To this point it hasn’t been matched. It’s been less than what it should be. And this is out of principle, what’s going on right now. I can’t speak for other players. It’s a principle for me. I’m not asking for the world.
"This is not a me thing. This is for the greater good of baseball. This is for principle.”
Several other teams could be in the running for Keuchel as well, according to the report, but it is unclear exactly who.