Pirates Q&A: What Could Mitch Keller Fetch? When Will Bubba Chandler Get Promoted? (+)
The Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up their West Coast road trip with a loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday. The Pirates took two of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks but went 1-2 against the Padres over the weekend.
Pittsburgh has been playing better but is 22-38 and 15.5 games out of first place in the National League Central.
The Pirates return to PNC Park on Tuesday night for the start of a nine-game homestand with three-game series against the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins.
Let’s get to your questions.
It’s clear that this team needs hitting. Keller is going to be too expensive for Nutting to stomach and it one of the better trade chips to Pirates have. What are some realistic returns we could expect for him. He is a solid 2/3 in the rotation, this year closer to a 2 than a 3. He is signed at reasonable figures for the next few years. I would expect a solid OF who has an OPS over 750 and a prospect or two. Is that reasonable? What might be examples of return as we get closer to the trading deadline. – Tim Dixon
Keller will no doubt be a coveted trade target this summer for all the reasons you mentioned. He’s affordable and under team control through 2028, plus he’s been pitching well this season.
The Pirates might want to unload one of their three “big” contracts to offer more flexibility, and Keller is the likeliest out of him, Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes.
As for what a return could look like, I don’t think you’re too far off. I think the Pirates would be able to get an established big-leaguer and at least one prospect.
There is no shortage of teams teams that make sense for Keller — the Astros, Orioles, Blue Jays, Red Sox, etc.
Take the Orioles for example. They need starting pitching in the worst way. If they are willing to take on Keller’s salary, a deal could involve a guy such as Heston Kjerstad or Colton Cowser. Both players had solid 2024 seasons but Kjestad has struggled this season and Cowser has been hurt most of the season. I’d want a prospect such as Creed Willems, a catcher/first baseman who is having a fine season in Double-A. I’d probably want another prospect too.
Is there any chance that they will promote Bubba Chandler to the majors? – Jim
I wouldn’t be surprised if Chandler was promoted to Pittsburgh at some point during the upcoming homestand. I have nothing concrete on that front, but it makes sense for a variety of reasons.
He’s ready. He’s dominated Triple-A this season and deserves a chance in the big leagues. When he makes his debut, it would mark the second-consecutive season in which the Pirates had the top pitching prospect in baseball make his first-career start.
The bigger reason, for a team like the Pirates, is that we are right around the super two deadline. There’s no set date, but sometime in early June usually the point in which a player will be arbitration-eligible for three years instead of four.
That matters to the Pirates, and it’s probably part of the reason we haven’t seen him in the big leagues yet.
Why is it harder for lefty’s to hit lefty’s than righty’s to hit righty’s? – Gary Warner
This is a good question. The best answer I can come up with is that players see right-handed pitchers much more than they see lefties. Some left-handers operate out of unorthodox arm slots too (ex: Chris Sale) which further complicates matters.
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