The Pirates’ most prized possession at the trade deadline may not be going anywhere after all.
After lots of speculation that the Pirates would trade Mitch Keller to clear salary and get a bat or two that can help the lineup; and with much interest from the Yankees, Cubs, Mets, Blue Jays, and Red Sox, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal is saying that Pittsburgh won’t trade Keller “barring a dramatic shift” today. An anonymous executive from a team interested in Keller stopped pursuing due to the Pirates’ reluctance to seriously engage, according to the report.
The Pirates front office is treating Mitch Keller as a very valuable asset that they are more than happy to keep unless they are suddenly blown away by an offer they can’t refuse, and that’s probably how they should’ve been going about it all along.