Jeff Keller

Hypothetical: You’re the owner of an MLB team. I offer to take $0 salary and sign a minor league contract and go to Low A. If the “he sucks now” crowd is right and I get lit up, you cut me, lose $0 and there’s no risk to the big league club. If the “clubhouse cancer” crowd is right, you see it immediately at Low A and cut me. You lose $0 and there’s no risk to the big league club. If there’s massive negative PR, which we already know there won’t be, you just cut me and move on. The story is dead in a couple days, you lose $0, and there’s no risk to the big league club. But, assuming none of those things happen, which they obviously wouldn’t, if you like what you see, you can promote me to AA and re evaluate me there. Then AAA. Then the big leagues. If I earn it, which you’d be 100% in control of deciding. If you don’t think I’m good enough, you lose $0 and there’s no risk to the big league club. You could take away my “antics”. You could take away my social media. You could ask anything of me. If I don’t comply, you cut me, lose $0, and there’s no risk to the big league club. What logical reason is there to not do this? At worst, you cut me and there’s no risk to the big league club. At best, you get a Cy Young winner for $0 who you know can still pitch and could help the big league team if and when you see fit.

“𝖧𝖾𝖺𝗏𝖾𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝖥𝖺𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋, 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖽𝖺𝗒 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾. 𝖦𝗎𝗂𝖽𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌, 𝗆𝗒 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝖽𝗌, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗆𝗒 𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌. 𝖦𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗆𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗀𝗍𝗁 𝗂𝗇 𝗐𝖾𝖺𝗄𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌, 𝗉𝖾𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗂𝗇 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗆𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍. 𝖡𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗆𝗒 𝖿𝖺𝗆𝗂𝗅𝗒 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗍𝖾𝖼𝗍 𝗎𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌. 𝖨𝗇 𝖩𝖾𝗌𝗎𝗌’ 𝗇𝖺𝗆𝖾, 𝖠𝗆𝖾𝗇.”