Minnesota Twins Add Dallas Keuchel to Big League Roster, Place Joe Ryan on Injured List

On Tuesday afternoon, Dallas Keuchel informed the Minnesota Twins that he would be opting out of minor-league contract with the St. Paul Saints. With that news, the Twins had 48 hours to add him to the major-league roster, otherwise Keuchel would become a free agent.

Then on Thursday, at seemingly the last minute, the Twins announced that they have purchased Keuchel’s contract, officially making the left-hander a Twin.

Dallas Keuchel has been a popular name in Twins Territory after the team signed him to a minor-league deal earlier this summer. Since joining the St. Paul Saints in June, Keuchel owns a 1.13 ERA across 32 innings. Keuchel is 35-years-old with a fastball that fails to reach 90 miles-per-hour, but his ability to keep the baseball in the ballpark has aided him in posting stellar numbers in his short stint with the St. Paul Saints.

Because of the Twins depth and health in their starting rotation, it really appeared as though the Twins were going to lose Keuchel. All five rotation spots were spoken for, and the Twins have never shown a desire to go with a six-man rotation.

In a somewhat surprising move on Thursday, though, the Twins announced that they would be placing Joe Ryan on the 15-day injured list with a groin strain, making room for the team to add Keuchel to the major-league roster.

The injured list move for Ryan comes on the heels of his disastrous outing on Wednesday in St. Louis where he threw 103 pitches in just four innings, allowing seven earned runs on four home runs. Since his complete game shutout at Target Field against the Red Sox, Ryan has an 8.63 ERA in seven starts, surrendering 17 home runs in 32 1/3 innings.

The groin injury would certainly help to explain Joe Ryan’s struggles as of late, however, the move could also be a way to get Ryan some rest and get a chance to see Keuchel in the big leagues after how well he’s been pitching with the St. Paul Saints. The injury did come as a surprise to manager, Rocco Baldelli, who had this to say:

There is still no news as to when we can expect to see Keuchel make his first start with the Twins. If he were to simply take Ryan’s spot in the rotation, his next start would come on Monday, August 7 against the Detroit Tigers.

What do you think about Dallas Keuchel joining the Twins? Leave a comment below and start the conversation.