With Dallas Keuchel's market expected to take off after the completion of baseball's amateur draft next week, the Yankees find themselves in pole position.
The Yankees are considered one of the front-runners to land the southpaw, according to SNY's Andy Martino, although no deal is in place and other teams remain involved in his courtship.
Keuchel will no longer be tied to a compensation pick following the amateur draft, which begins Monday. Talks could progress quickly, so the Yankees' good standing leading into next week is an important positive.
While emphasizing that no deals are done and other teams are involved, people involved continue to say that the Yankees are very well-positioned to land Dallas Keuchel next week. One of the frontrunners.
- Andy Martino (@martinonyc) May 30, 2019
Even if the Yankees ink Keuchel to a deal, it won't stop them from pursuing other starters on the trade market. The list of names that could interest the Yankees include Marcus Stroman, Trevor Bauer or Zack Wheeler.
The Yankees have done their due diligence on the 31-year-old, who went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA in 34 starts last season with 153 strikeouts over 204 2/3 innings. Team representatives have had a presence at the simulated games he's been tossing every five days or so.
Among other teams recently linked to Keuchel are the Rays and the Braves.