The Pittsburgh Pirates were widely expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, but the team did not go nearly as far as most expected them to. Yes, they traded Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Reds and David Bednar, Bailey Falter, Taylor Rogers, and others did end up getting moved, but the Pirates' trade deadline was more notably defined by who they kept. That included controllable starter Mitch Keller.
While keeping guys who are pending free agents like Andrew Heaney and Tommy Pham was strange, given the Pirates' position, it was keeping Keller that stood out, especially given the lack of viable rotation options on the trade market this year.