is one of the top names on the pitching market. The Pirates have generally been expected to deal him to clear payroll space and bring back controllable hitting talent. While thats seemingly the likeliest outcome, writes that the Pirates remain unsure of whether to trade Keller with six days before the deadline. Keller is e sentially in the first season of a four-year contract. He signed an extension in February 2024, though that left his already agreed upon salary for last year unchanged. Keller is playing on a $15MM salary this year. Thatll climb to $16.5MM, $18MM, and $20MM for the next three seasons. It takes him through his age-32 campaign. That makes Keller the highest-paid player on the roster. Its neverthele s quite a bit le s than hed command if he were on the open market. Theres surplus value thatd allow the Pirates to land a significant return. Keller is amidst the best season of his career. He owns a personal-low 3.53 earned run average in 125 innings. Hes only striking out 18.7% of batters faced, but he is walking fewer than 6% of opposing hitters. Keller has taken a step forward in handling left-handed hitters after struggling in that regard earlier in his career. Its a rock-solid #3 starter profile. Keller has been exceptionally durable and has a six-pitch arsenal thats headlined by a 94 MPH Moises Alou Jersey fastball. The Bucs have reportedly gotten calls from the Yankees, Blue Jays, Cubs and Mets presumably among others that havent been reported. has suggested the Cubs view Keller as something of a fallback target. The Mets are involved in the rotation market but presently more focused on the bullpen. Toronto and the Yankees still appear strongly involved in the rotation market. Teams like the Giants, Red Sox and Tigers could also pursue controllable starting pitching. The Pirates are weighing that against the po sibility of keeping Keller behind in the rotation. Top prospect should be up before the end of the season. could return midway through the 26 campaign. Thatd be a potentially elite top four if they were all healthy. Pitcher injuries are always a concern, though, and the Pirates have run out unplayable lineups year after year. Theyre unlikely to spend their way out of that problem. Even with star shortstop prospect coming through the pipeline, theres not enough hitting talent in the organization. Trading Keller is probably their best path to acquiring young offensive upside. Pittsburgh should also get a notable return for closer , who is under arbitration control for another season after this one. Setup man has built a decent amount of value as well. The Bucs to move unle s theyre completely blown away by an offer. None of their impending free agents are going to bring much back. General manager Ben Cherington was hired over the 2019-20 offseason. The Pirates havent come especially close to making the playoffs in that time. They already replaced skipper Derek Shelton earlier in the season. It stands to reason Cherington is motivated to demonstrate a path to the playoffs for the 2026 club. Trading Keller for low minors prospects wouldnt do much to that end, so itd make sense for them to demand high minors and/or young MLB talent. Julian Merryweather Jersey