The Atlanta Braves signed free-agent left-handed pitcher Dallas Keuchel to a one-year, $13 million contract on Thursday night, according to multiple reports.

Keuchel deal is for one year, $13 million. Physical is Friday in Atlanta. First start is scheduled for Saturday in Gwinnett. — Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) June 7, 2019

The Yankees, who were in the Keuchel sweepstakes until the end, apparently tried to get him cheaply.

For Keuchel, Yankees suggested willingness to pay the Qualifying Offer pro-rated, which was between $11M and $12M. So they will look elsewhere for starter. — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 7, 2019

What does this mean for the Yankees?

Could the Yankees have used him? Sure. First, there’s the too-true cliche of, you can’t have enough pitching. How that applies to the Yankees is simple: They don’t have enough sure bets to stay healthy. Ace Luis Severino (right lat strain) hasn’t pitched all season and though he’s due back after the All-Star break, that’s a vague target. CC Sabathia has been on the injured list twice. James Paxton spent a month there and his sore left knee, which has inflammation around its MCL, still isn’t completely healthy. And Masahiro Tanaka isn’t a stranger to the IL.

For context: In early March, the Astros offered Keuchel two possible deals -- one year at $15 million, or 2/$24m. — Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 7, 2019

Will they regret not signing him? Maybe, but doubtful. The Yankees are operating as if their starting staff will be healthy and as if Domingo German’s great start is less of a fluke than it’s looked lately — he’s gotten smacked around in his last two outings.

Dallas Keuchel gets 1-year,$13 million as @TBrownYahoo reported, so $4.9 million less than the qualifying offer he rejected 7 months ago from #Astros — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 7, 2019

A refresher on Keuchel: The 31-year-old is a two-time All-Star and 2015 Cy Young award winner. (He’s also got five Gold Gloves, for what it’s worth.) He’s battle-tested, having come up big in the postseason. In 2018, Keuchel went 12-11 in 34 starts for the Astros, posting a 3.74 ERA. Keuchel is a ground-ball specialist who doesn’t get a ton of strikeouts and relies on command of the strike zone.

What are the Yankees’ options now?

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand discussed that Tuesday with WFAN’s Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts. According to Feinsand, the best options on the trade market for the Yankees are a pair of aces: Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer and San Francisco Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner.

“Scherzer you would have to pay a fortune in terms of prospect capital to get him. Bumgarner I’ve heard the Yankees have mixed feelings on him, certainly early in the season when he wasn’t pitching well. The thought was he’s a big name, but would he really be a big impact pitcher. I think he could have a Verlander impact in terms of a guy who is sort of languishing on a bad team, maybe a little bored and not into it, and you go to a contender and all of a sudden you get rejuvenated. Of course, he’s a lot younger than Verlander was when he went to the Astros. In that aspect, you’re going to have a lot of teams interested in Bumgarner.”

NJ Advance Media’s Brendan Kuty and Mike Rosenstein contributed to this report.