Trading Mitch Keller would be a bad idea for the Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates snapped an eight-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins to go into the All-Star break.

Starting pitcher Mitch Keller was the big star of the game for them, putting together another strong outing by going six innings, allowing just one run and lowering his season ERA down to a very strong 3.48. 

He might not be an ace or a front-line starter, but he is an extremely solid middle of the rotation starter that is going to be one of the biggest names on the trade block over the next couple of weeks. Starts like Sunday likely only boosted his value as teams like the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays swarm around in the market for pitchers. 

It would be a terrible idea for the Pirates to act on that market and trade him this season.

For one, the optics of it trading Keller would be terrible.

He is only 18 months into into a five-year, $77M contract extension that he signed prior to the 2024 season. While that is big money for the Pirates, it's a perfectly fine contract for a middle-of-the-rotation starter. He still has multiple years left on that deal, is not in any danger of leaving anytime soon and is a big part of a starting rotation that is already playoff caliber for the Pirates. 

Moving him so soon after signing him to an extension would do nothing to quiet the arguments that the Pirates are too cheap to try and field a winning team.

There could be a baseball argument in favor of trading Keller when it comes to dealing from a position of strength to fill a position of weakness.

The Pirates rotation at the major league level is already good. They have one of the game's top pitching prospects in Bubba Chandler knocking on the door, along with another potential front-line prospect in Hunter Barco. 

They also have a desperate need for Major League caliber bats. It would make some sense to try and flip some of that pitching depth for a bat. 

The problem here is the Pirates should be looking to pounce on the few seasons they have with Paul Skenes before he prices his way out of Pittsburgh, and any trade involving Keller should bring back Major League bats, not prospects that are years away. The types of contending teams that would be interested in Keller may not be willing to part with that sort of established bat. That might make it more sensible for them to wait for the offseason.

Perhaps the biggest argument against trading Keller right now, however, is that they should not trust general manager Ben Cherington to make a move of that magnitude. Cherington has been the Pirates' general manager for six years and has consistently failed to acquire Major League bats and has a bad habit of coming out on the losing end of trades. Keller is too valuable of a player, and trade chip, for them to lose that deal.

There is a good chance Cherington is not back next season, and if the Pirates still feel a Keller trade is the way forward a new general manager should be the one making it. 

In the meantime, they have an outstanding middle-of-the-rotation starter signed to a fair market value price for the next few seasons. There is no rush to move that.