Trade Idea Sends Pirates Pitcher to Division Rival
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates will sell at the MLB Trade Deadline, with some of their best assets their long-term contracted players.
Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller has received considerable interest from across the MLB and is one of the top trade targets at his position, thanks to his play and contract.
Amongst the teams interested in Keller include the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote about five MLB trade deadline deals he'd like to see, which includes the Pirates trading Keller to the Cubs, which he sees addressing both teams' biggest issues.
The haul Bowden envisions for the Pirates includes two prospects in outfielder Owen Caissie and infielder Cristian Hernandez.
Caissie is hitting .278/.379/.569 for an OPS of .948 in 79 games at Triple-A, with 83 hits, 23 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 46 RBIs and 46 walks to 102 strikeouts. He ranks second in the International League in home runs, fourth in slugging percentage, fifth in OPS, ninth in doubles, 18th in slugging percentage and tied for 18th in hits.
MLB Pipeline ranks Caissie as the Cubs' top prospect and the 37th best prospect in baseball.
Bowden sees The Pirates, who rank among the worst hitting teams in baseball in most metrics, benefiting from Caissie, who at 23 years old, could join the lineup immediately.
Hernandez plays mostly at shortstop and has spent all of 2025 with the High-A South Bend Cubs. MLB Pipeline ranks Hernandez as the 11th best prospect in the Cubs' farm system.
The 21-year old has slashed .272/.334/.394 for an OPS of .728, with 89 hits, 21 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 41 RBIs, 32 walks to 74 strikeouts and 36 stolen bases on 45 attempts. He ranks tied for third in doubles, fifth in stolen bases, tied for eighth in hits and 19th in batting average in the Midwest League
Bowden sees the Cubs needing starting pitching, with left-handed pitcher Justin Steele making just four starts in 2025 before going on the injured list with left elbow tendinitis.
Keller has had an excellent season, despite a 4-10 record in 21 starts. He has 15 quality starts, tied for the most in the MLB. A quality start is when a starting pitcher throws six innings and allows three runs or fewer.
He has a 3.53 ERA over 125.0 innings pitched, 97 strikeouts to 30 walks, a .239 opposing batting average and a 1.16 WHIP and His innings pitched rank ninth most in the MLB.
Keller signed a five-year, $77 million contract on Feb. 22, 2024 and currently makes $15,411,500 in 2025, the most a Pirates player is earning this season on their payroll. He is only one of two players making more than $10 million this season, along with outfielder Bryan Reynolds at $12,250,000.
His salary increases $1.5 million each year over the next two seasons, to $16,911,000 in 2026 and then $18,411,000 in 2027, then an increase of $2 million in 2028 to $20,411,000.
The Cubs could take on that contract of Keller's and give the Pirates some needed offensive help, which would give them a solid, veteran starter for this season through 2028.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.