With the July 31st trade deadline looming, rumors are starting to fly and articles are running wild about what could happen between now and then.
For the Pittsburgh Pirates, general manager Ben Cherington is expected to field calls on a large amount of players currently on their major league roster. But while position players like Ke’Bryan Hayes and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are starting to gain traction, the bulk of the trade talk surrounding the Pirates will center around their pitching.
Earlier in the week, Jim Bowden over at The Athletic published a piece on potential trade deadline talks. Five Pirates were on his list; four of them were pitchers, which is this organization’s obvious strength with their team as currently constructed.
Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller was the first pitcher to make an appearance on this list, in a summer where his name is popping up more and more in trade talks. The 29-year-old has settled into a role deeper in the rotation ever since the arrival of Skenes and could serve as a valuable asset in acquiring bats for the team’s abysmal offense.
Keller, who signed a five-year, $77 million extension with the Pirates ahead of last season, has been the team’s greatest victim of the lack of offense. Keller sports a 3-10 record despite posting a 3.64 ERA and being near the top of the sport in quality starts.
While Keller, by his career marks, is only a slightly above-average major league pitcher, he holds a ton of value to the organization, and likely more value than other MLB teams place on him.
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