Why are Keuchel and Kimbrel still Unsigned?

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Does anyone recall a stranger off season than the one we just completed? If you do, please share your memory of it and what made it SO strange in the comments below and refresh our minds!

When the off season began last fall, I wonder if any of the online sports betting sites could have predicted the time it took for players like OF Bryce Harper or INF Manny Machado to sign? I can understand the concern some teams might have with Machado’s lack of hustle, but the upside is he is a bonafide offensive and defensive superstar. With Harper, it is a little different as the knock on him s mostly his arrogance, but teams knew about that before he was even drafted, but he is anther in the line of run through the wall dirt dogs. As great as they both are this seemed out of the ordinary!

To make matters worse, you have two of the top pitchers in the game in starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel and arguably one of the top 5 best closers in the game in Craig Kimbrel still unsigned as of this writing. The one billion dollar question is why all of this mystery? Is it just the next phase of the continuing Moneyball era or are teams just universally (or is it collusion) going younger? What conspiracy theories do you have about this off season? If you have any legitimate theories you could add those too. Heck, I might even post of few of the better ones to the bottom of this post in an update. Additionally, please share any other articles (please include the links) that you liked on the subject so we can all hear what people are saying.

Personally, I wonder if Kimbrel’s less than stellar performance in the playoffs have scared teams away from signing him or think the experience has made him damaged goods? And speaking of damaged goods, I also wonder if Keuchel is considered damaged goods after his shoulder and foot injuries in 2016, the pinched nerve in his neck in 2017. It begs the question of if there are any other hidden injuries the southpaw has hidden over the years that are now showing up in his health records.

I guess only time will tell, but realistically, we may never know the real answer unless someone writes a book on it years down the road. Until then, we will just have to use forums like ths to speculate why this off season was SO very strange!