Philadelphia Phillies looking tough in NLCS

Anyone else feeling as though the Arizona Diamondbacks have run into a buzzsaw in the National League Championship Series?

The Diamondbacks have two quality starting pitchers in Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, and they had them lined up to pitch the first two games in Philadelphia against the Phillies.

The Phillies did not seem impressed. In Monday night's Game 1, Philadelphia hit three home runs in the first two innings off Gallen. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos all went deep, and Gallen walked off the mound after five innings with his team trailing, 5-0.

The Diamondbacks, as they have done throughout the season, fought back with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh, but the Phillies walked away with a 5-3 win.

Game 2 on Tuesday? It was no contest. 

Kelly didn't pitch poorly. He gave up only three hits over 5.2 innings, but the hits were all homers. Schwarber went deep twice, and Trea Turner homered in the first inning. And once Kelly left the game, Philadelphia absolutely pounded the Arizona bullpen and went on to an easy 10-0 victory.

The Phillies have two pretty good starters as well. Zack Wheeler pitched six innings of two-run ball to get the win in Game 1. Aaron Nola tossed six shutout innings to win Game 2.

I was thinking all along that the winner of the Division Series between Philadelphia and the Atlanta Braves would end up as the NL champion. The Phillies won that series, and now they head to Arizona up 2-0 in the NLCS.

The only saving grace for the Diamondbacks is they get to play at home now. However, they've already lost with their two best pitchers on the mound. They face a tough climb against a Philadelphia team that looks awesome right now.

White Sox sign left-handed pitcher Dallas Keuchel to three-year contract

Dallas Keuchel

The White Sox on Saturday moved to boost their starting rotation, agreeing to terms with left-hander Dallas Keuchel on a three-year, $55 million contract, according to reports.

The deal includes a vesting option for a fourth season that could take the value of the contract up to $74 million.

Keuchel, 31, won the Cy Young Award in 2015 as a member of the Houston Astros, and he helped that franchise win its only World Series title in 2017. He had a strange season in 2019 -- he was a free agent last offseason, but signed late with the Atlanta Braves, and he didn't pitch until June.

He compiled an 8-8 record with a 3.75 ERA in 19 starts and 112.1 innings pitched. He struck out 91, walked 39 and posted a 1.367 WHIP.

This signing is interesting. Keuchel was once an ace, but he's not anymore, but then again he's not being paid like an ace. For actual ace contracts, see Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg. He's being paid like a stabilizing, mid-rotation veteran, and the hope is he can pitch like a stabilizing, mid-rotation veteran. Keuchel has three 200-plus inning seasons in his past, and he will be the only member of the Sox pitching staff to have ever reached the 200-inning threshold.

Here's how the rotation may look when the season starts:
1. Lucas Giolito
2. Keuchel
3. Reynaldo Lopez
4. Dylan Cease
5. Gio Gonzalez

And let's not forget, Michael Kopech is healthy and will join the rotation at some point.

The concern about Keuchel would be his age. At 31, his best season (2015) is five years in the past. He isn't going to go 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA again. He doesn't have the velocity that the stats guys love -- you're going to be seeing a lot of 87 mph sinkers. And it is true that Keuchel was not the Sox's top choice. That was Zack Wheeler, who signed a five-year deal with Philadelphia.

However, consider these things about Keuchel: He has compiled a 121 ERA+ over the past three seasons. That means he's been 21 percent better than league average over that time, and it's notable that these numbers DO NOT include his Cy Young season of 2015. He's also been healthy, knock on wood. There's only been one stint on the injured list in the past seven years, and that was for a pinched nerve in his neck. Keuchel has never missed time because of a shoulder or elbow problem. And Keuchel had a 60.1 groundball rate last season -- that's the best in baseball for any pitcher who threw more than 110 innings.

Now, whether the Sox infield can catch all those groundballs, that's a matter of debate. But I think that number demonstrates that Keuchel can still be an effective starter for the Sox, and I don't think three years and about $18 million per is an overpay at all -- especially when you consider what aces are receiving in the current marketplace.

Perhaps most importantly, this addition -- and the addition of Gonzalez -- sends pitchers such as Dylan Covey, Carson Fulmer and Ross Detwiler to the back of the line in terms of rotation options. Even if you don't care for these two additions, Keuchel and Gonzalez have a floor that is higher than the ceilings of pitchers such as Covey and Detwiler. At minimum, the Sox have made incremental progress here.

White Sox swing and miss on Zack Wheeler, Cole Hamels

Zack Wheeler

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn has said the team intends to sign two free agent starting pitchers this offseason. However, two pitchers the Sox were linked with signed elsewhere Wednesday.

Zack Wheeler agreed to a five-year, $118 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, while Cole Hamels joined the Atlanta Braves on a one-year, $18 million deal.

According to a tweet from MLB Network's Jon Heyman, Wheeler was the Sox's top target in terms of starting pitchers. Apparently, the Sox front office doesn't believe it can land either Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, the two elite aces on the market, so the Sox set their sights on the best pitcher in the "second tier" of available starters.

That would be Wheeler, but as per usual, the Sox are the bridesmaid and not the bride. The Phillies beat out the Sox, the Minnesota Twins, the Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers in this pursuit.

According to a tweet from MLB Network's Ken Rosenthal, the Sox's offer to Wheeler was for *more* than $118 million, but Wheeler's wife is from New Jersey and proximity was important.

OK, not sure if I buy that. It's all speculation, but for me as a Sox fan, the bottom line is the Hahn regime continues to come up short far more times than not, and the team still has much to prove in terms of its commitment to winning.

As for Hamels, just days ago he was on the White Sox Talk podcast with NBC Sports Chicago's Chuck Garfien to express his interest in possibly coming to the South Side.

Instead, Hamels will be headed to Atlanta. This loss isn't as big of a deal for the Sox, but let's be honest, Hamels would have been a nice fit as a veteran left-hander in the middle or the back of the rotation.

If the Sox are not in on Cole or Strasburg, and we have to assume they are not until proven otherwise, where does the team go from here? Do they pursue Madison Bumgarner? Dallas Keuchel? Someone else?

The Sox front office continues to earn skepticism from me. I'm not convinced they are going to land the two starting pitchers they need. C'mon, guys, prove me wrong.

Yoenis Cespedes signs three-year deal to stay with Mets

Yoenis Cespedes

Yoenis Cespedes was the last of the impact free-agent outfielders on the board this offseason, and he had to wait until late January to sign a contract.

But, what a player-friendly contract it is.

Cespedes will stay with the New York Mets, after agreeing Friday on a three-year deal worth $75 million. The Mets front-loaded the deal -- Cespedes will make $27.5 million for the 2016 season, and the contract includes an opt-out after one year.

Given next offseason's weak crop of free agents, Cespedes is in position to go back on the market next year and cash in with an even bigger contract -- if he performs at a high level this season in New York.

Cespedes was acquired by the Mets midseason last year, and he hit .287 with 17 home runs and 44 RBIs in 57 games. During that stretch, New York went 36-21 and transformed itself from a middling team into NL East Division champions. They went on to make the World Series before losing to the Kansas City Royals.

Give the Mets credit. This move solidifies them as one of the top teams in the National League. Quite possibly, they are the favorite to make it back to the World Series. It's hard to bet against them with the pitching staff they have in place. Their rotation includes Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and one of Bartolo Colon or Zack Wheeler.

Find me another team in baseball that can match that kind of quality and depth in starting pitching. I don't think there is one.

There's every reason to believe Cespedes, 30, will continue to be productive as a cleanup hitter. The only real problem for the Mets here will be their outfield defense. Cespedes is a plus defender in left field, but on the Mets, he'll need to play center field in between Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson. As a center fielder, Cespedes is adequate at best. That could hurt New York at times, but I think the benefits of this signing far outweigh the drawbacks for them. They are one of the teams that has a shot to win it all in 2016.

What does this mean for the White Sox? Well, back to the drawing board. I'm not sure the Sox were ever serious contenders for Cespedes, and certainly, they were not going to hand out a contract like the one Cespedes signed.

The Sox got caught a little bit here, slow-playing the outfield market, believing somebody's price would eventually come down into their range. That never happened, and for now, they are stuck with the status quo in their outfield. We'll find out in the next few weeks how much they really believe in Avisail Garcia. Will they give him another year in right field, or will they make a trade to replace him?