Pirates Unsure About Trading All-Star Starting Pitcher

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates will make many sales at the MLB trade deadline on July 31, but one moving one of their biggest assets is something their reportedly not 100% on board with.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Pirates are "torn" between keeping and trading right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller.

His sources from inside and outside the franchise said that the Pirates, "don't have clarity" on if they can move Keller. Rosenthal said that the decision belongs to general manager Ben Cherington and some influence from owner Bob Nutting.

The Pirates currently rank amongst the worst hitting metrics across the MLB, contributing to their 42-62 record.

They have the least amount of runs (350), doubles (142), home runs (68), RBIs (338), third least hits (790) and seventh most strikeouts (909). They also have both the worst slugging percentage (.340) and OPS (.640), rank tied for third worst batting average (.230), and tied for the fifth worst on-base percentage (.300).

Trading Keller could bolster the offense, by finding an MLB-ready made bat from a contender that's willing to part with that for a veteran reliever.

Keller only has a 4-10 record over 21 starts this season, but has 15 quality starts, tied for the most in the MLB. A quality start is when a starting pitcher throws six innings and allows three runs or fewer.

He has a 3.53 ERA over 125.0 innings pitched, 97 strikeouts to 30 walks, a .239 opposing batting average and a 1.16 WHIP and His innings pitched rank 13th most in the MLB.

Keller signed a five-year, $77 million contract on Feb. 22, 2024 and currently makes $15,411,500 in 2025, the most a Pirates player is earning this season on their payroll. He is only one of two players making more than $10 million this season, along with outfielder Bryan Reynolds at $12,250,000.

His salary increases $1.5 million each year over the next two seasons, to $16,911,000 in 2026 and then $18,411,000 in 2027, then an increase of $2 million in 2028 to $20,411,000.

Rosenthal reported that trading Keller could bring in that offense the Pirates need, but some in the organization think keeping Keller gives them a much better chance of competing in 2026.

They also reportedly have this same belief with right-handed relief pitchers in David Bednar and Dennis Santana, plus outfielders in Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds, all of which have received trade interest leading into the deadline.

Rosenthal says that while the Pirates could keep Keller and contend for next season, they'd need to spend in free agency, something that hasn't happened under Nutting.

The Pirates haven't given a multi-year deal to a free agent since 2016, when they signed right-handed starting pitcher Ivan Nova to a three-year, $26 million deal. They also haven't signed a free agent position player to a multi-year deal since John Jaso on a two-year, $8 million contract in 2015.

Rosenthal mentions the strong crop of young pitchers the Pirates have if they do trade Keller, which includes right-handers in All-Star Paul Skenes, rookies in Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows, plus up and coming prospects like Bubba Chandler and left-hander Hunter Barco, ranked No. 5 and No. 72 in the MLB Pipeline top 100.

He also notes that the players on one-year deals, which includes outfielder Tommy Pham, infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, plus left-handed pitchers in starter Andrew Heaney and Caleb Ferguson, won't bring back the offense the Pirates need, nor will Bednar, if they trade him too.

Keller has reportedly received interest from playoff-bound teams like the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and New York Yankees.