The name of the right -handed of Pittsburgh Pirates, Mitch Keller, occurred a ton in recent commercial rumors, and rightly so. The team is bad and Keller has a lot of value. The way he tonne is also given Bob Nutting a chance to get out of ~ 60 million dollars remaining on his contract. Everything makes sense.
But while Ben Cherington made colossal blunders during his stay in Pittsburgh, Keller’s trade could end up being his greatest of a mile. The type of safety that Keller brings to the rotation of pirates is not something that they can easily reproduce, even with their large quantity of pitch depth.
Since 2022, Keller has made 111 departures by launching 644 1/3 rounds. It has an ERA of 4.04 (106 ERA +), a FIP of 3.82 and a whip of 1.29 in these games. Keller 21.9% K% cannot jump from the page, because it is the average of the league. It has a solid walking rate of 7% and an HR / 9 ratio of 0.99. Keller has established himself as one of the most reliable launchers in baseball in the last four seasons.
Few launchers have launched more than 640 rounds since 2022; Just 13 to be exact. Even less (11) did it while producing an ERA + greater than the average and a FIP of less than 4.00. Keller is part of a short list that includes very talented arms, such as Logan Webb, Corbin Burnes, Framber Valdez, Zack Wheeler and Logan Gilbert. It still has another quality campaign this year which includes solid volume and results.
The veteran has an MPM of 3.58, 3.39 FIP and 1.17 whip so far in 2025. Although it can only have only 18.9% k%, its 5.7% walking rate is better. Another career hollow is its 0.72 hr / 9. Keller has already made 19 departures with 113 work rounds. Both are ranking in the top 15 baseball right now. However, pitcies with 19+ outings and more than 110 IP, only 10 have a MPE and FIP less than 4.00.
Reliability is a difficult thing to find in baseball today. With constant injuries on Tommy John’s arms and surgeries, finding a launcher on which you can count for at least five rounds at each outing (and for 30 departures per season) is difficult to find. It is even more difficult to find one that can do so and regularly give the average to the production above average. There is no replacement for what Keller brings to the pirates.
Bubba Chandler would probably be the next man, but he has an average of four rounds per start at Triple-A this season. He launched 39 1/3 rounds in just seven departures after a promotion at the end of the season in Indy at the end of last year, but it is his best sustainability. Is Mike Burrows ready to intensify it and increase its workload considerably? Is Braxton Ashcraft ready to launch at least five semi-Regular rounds?
This does not even mention its affordable inside. Keller is still under contract throughout the 2028 season and owes just over $ 55.7 million. It’s cheap dirt to Keller. Last off -season, Sean Manaea signed $ 75 million for three years. Luis Severino also signed a three -year contract worth a little less than $ 67 million. When launchers like Frankie Montas, Matt Boyd and Alex Cobb are just under what Keller is this season, you have a good deal with your hands. In addition, do you trust the property of pirates to reinvest the money saved in a Keller business in the organization significantly?
You could say that Keller is almost as irreplaceable as Paul Skenes. Sustainability, reliability and both at a market price for three more years? Trading Keller would be the biggest error in Cherington’s career in Pittsburgh. Even recover a battle of stars with just as much, or more remaining control, would always leave a massive vacuum in the rotation.
