The Pittsburgh Pirates are a team in disarray.
Sure, they have a few truly elite players like Paul Skenes and Oneil Cruz, who helped to elevate their statuses at All-Star weekend, but the Pirates are almost 20 games below .500, have no hope of a playoff spot in the National League Central, and once again look like sellers at the 2025 MLB trade deadline.
Fortunately, with how the market has shaken out, the Pirates might actually be in a good position to get great value for players like Mitch Keller and beyond, as Ken Rosenthal explained on Foul Territory.
“I do. And it's not just Mitch Keller, of course. It's Ke'Bryan Hayes. It's Bryan Reynolds. It's the two relievers you mentioned. They could do a number of things. Now, will they do them? I don't know,” Rosenthal said.
“And they're in a really good position with Keller in particular because of the shortage of starting pitchers. Who is the Max Scherzer of this year's deadline? There is none. So you're looking at Sandy Alcantara, who has struggled. Zac Gallen, who has struggled. Merrill Kelly is good. The Diamondbacks are likely to trade only one of Kelly and Gowen, if at all.
“And then there's Mitch Keller, and maybe a few others. Adrian Houser with the White Sox, Charlie Morton with the Orioles. It's not a killer group by any stretch of the imagination. So, Scott, to answer your question, yes, the Pirates do hold a lot of pieces. They have no reason to hold onto them. And I would expect, because they've made it known that the only untouchables are Skenes and McCutchen, that they will be quite active.”
Would it behoove the Pirates to identify a core to build around moving forward, investing in players who complement them in free agency and via trade in order to finally get back to their winning ways? Most certainly, but moving on from Keller, Hayes, or Reynolds isn't the same as trading away Paul Skenes or Cruz. If the price is right and the young players and/or picks presented are enticing enough, why not stack up a few more assets and turn Buccos Nation's eyes to the future?