Report: Braves, Keuchel agree to 1-year, $13M deal

The Atlanta Braves agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.

Keuchel will reportedly earn $13 million in 2019, prorated from $20 million due to starting his season partway through the campaign, Passan adds.

After a physical on Friday, Keuchel is scheduled to make his first start with Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

The 2015 AL Cy Young winner has spent all seven of his major-league seasons with the Houston Astros.

Keuchel rejected a $17.9-million qualifying offer from his former club after last season and was thus tied to a compensatory 2019 draft pick. However, that pick was removed from play once the draft started Monday.

Houston attempted to retain his services in March, offering him a pair of deals. One was a one-year, $15-million contract and the other was for two years and $24 million, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

The two-time All-Star joins a starting rotation that has had mixed results so far this season. Rookie Mike Soroka has been the team's most effective hurler, going 6-1 with a 1.41 ERA and 8.01 K/9 over nine starts.

Julio Teheran and Max Fried have put together strong stretches, but Kevin Gausman (6.15 ERA) and Mike Foltynewicz (5.89 ERA, 3.05 HR/9) have largely struggled.

Keuchel was, for the most part, a consistent presence in the Astros' rotation. He went 67-45 with a 3.28 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 950 1/3 innings since joining in 2014.

The New York Yankees were reportedly willing to agree to a prorated qualifying offer worth around $11 million or $12 million, but wouldn't go further, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.