Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Pirates remain open to offers on their starters – with an exception, of course Paul Skeneswho general manager Ben Cherington has already stated will not be moved. That wouldn’t be for the prospects, as the goal would be to trade pitching for offense. Cherington and his front office have made a number of these types of trades over the past year and a half. In addition to the Oviedo/Garcia deal, they traded Quinn Priester for Nick Yorke at the 2024 deadline and reversed Luis Ortiz and a few pitching prospects for Spencer Horwitz last winter. The Horwitz deal looks much better than the previous two transactions.
It seems safe to assume the Pirates won’t trade Jared Jonesa potential top-of-the-rotation arm halfway through rehabilitation elbow surgery. Bubba Chandler is perhaps the best pitching prospect in baseball right now. It would be almost as surprising to see him move. Even with Oviedo heading to Boston, the Bucs have some intriguing options.
Mitch Keller is the simplest trading candidate. There have been trade rumors for years, although it has generally been about rebuilding Pittsburgh. The situation is different now that the goal is to build a play-off caliber lineup for next season. Keller is a solid starter in the mid-range, with production declining in the second half of three consecutive years. He has been a sustainable source of innings with a low 4.00 ERA overall. He attacks the strike zone and has great speed, but doesn’t miss many bats. At 30 years old, it’s unlikely he’ll jump from a #3/4 starter to become an ace.
Keller signs for three seasons. He will make $16.5 million next season, followed by $18 million and $20 million salaries, respectively. He is the team’s highest-paid player, but that doesn’t seem to be as big of an issue this season as it normally would be. The Pirates are reportedly open to being more aggressive in adding mid-range free agent hitters. They would obviously have more cap space if they move Keller, but the contract doesn’t force him out the door.
There must be some added value. Keller would likely top out at three years and $54.5 million if he were a free agent. It’s not a huge bargain, though, as his open market value could be between $65 and 75 million. The Pirates would be more likely to acquire an established hitter with several years of control if they were willing to trade one of their younger weapons. Braxton Ashcraft And Mike Burrows would be particularly valuable.
Ashcraft thrived as a rookie in a multi-inning relief role. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out 24.3% of batters while pitching to a 2.71 ERA in 69 2/3 innings. He sat around 97 MPH on his fastballs while throwing some power pitches. He will likely get a rotation spot next season and have six years of club control.
Burrows, also 26, has also yet to reach a full year of service. He sits around 95 MPH with his fastball and has a four-pitch mix. Burrows defeated 24.1% of opponents while working to a 3.94 earned run average over 96 frames. He held a rotation spot from late May until the end of the season.
Pittsburgh would have no shortage of interest in Burrows and Ashcraft. The diamond ridges (Jordan Lawlar), Angels (Christian Moore), giants (Bryce Eldridge) and Orioles (Dylan Bevers, Coby Mayo) are all looking for rookie pitchers and have highly touted hitting prospects who have yet to establish themselves in the MLB.
The pitching pipeline extends even further. Hunter Barco, Antwone Kelly, Wilber Dotel And Thomas Harrington are all on the 40-man roster. The first three are all among the organization’s top 10 prospects Baseball America. Harrington may be more of a deep arm, but all four pitchers should have fans in the scouting departments of other clubs. The Pirates added another high-octane arm to the system last summer, drafting high school rights Seth Hernández sixth overall. He’s years away and has the standard risks of any teenage pitcher, but offers another potential impact starter in the future.
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