All the talk about the future of the Pirates' rotation is always headlined by Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler. While Mitch Keller plays a major role in the rotation, being the most expensive arm and a consistent contributor, his future in Pittsburgh feels murky. Ben Cherington has shown recent willingness to move on from him at the deadline, and that discussion will certainly open back up in the offseason.
One big reason why the chances of a trade are more likely these days is the emergence of Braxton Ashcraft. The right-handed pitcher has found a lot of success as a reliever, and was given the opportunity to open up games as a starter following the deadline, and has done even better in that role.