<p>Going as far back to<a href="https://www.fantasyalarm.com/player-news/3664301/passan-keller-could-be-a-fit-for-blue-jays/"> late June</a> this season, Jeff Passan has been writing about what players are most likely to be acquired/sold at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. The name that came up for the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Blue Jays</a> was Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller.  Let&#8217;s take a look and see what the Pirates have with the 29-year-old right-hander.</p>
<h3><strong>Scouting Report: </strong></h3>
<p>Standing at 6&#8217;3 and 212 lbs, Mitch is a former second-round pick of the Pirates in the 2014 MLB draft. From 2018 to 2020, he was the Pirates&#8217; top prospect in the organization.  Across seven seasons in Pittsburgh, Keller owns a career 4.43 ERA, an 8.1 bWAR and 784 career strikeouts.</p>
<p>Keller&#8217;s pitching arsenal incorporates a 4-seam fastball (average 94 mph), sweeper, slider, sinker, curveball, changeup, and cutter.  His strikeout rate this season is lower than normal at 18.4%, but he&#8217;s done a good job at limiting walks this season as his walk rate is down to its lowest at 5.8 % across 125 innings pitched in 2025. Keller was an all-star in 2023 and set the single-season strikeout record in Pirates franchise history by recording 210 strikeouts across 194 1/3 innings.  While he has struggled with giving up home runs in the last two seasons, giving up 25 in 2023 and 23 last season, Keller has only given up 10 home runs so far across 21 starts with the team.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trading Mitch Keller might be the best way for the Pirates to acquire badly needed offense and clear payroll to sign free-agent hitters in the offseason.</p>
<p>But they&#39;re not clear on whether they want to move Keller, per sources.</p>
<p>More from <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ken_Rosenthal</a> ⤵️<a href="https://t.co/Byv95E6byF">https://t.co/Byv95E6byF</a> <a href="https://t.co/31XAF8GnQY">pic.twitter.com/31XAF8GnQY</a></p>
<p>&mdash; The Athletic (@TheAthletic) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1949182973104029701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>So far in July, he&#8217;s posted a 2.10 ERA with 20 strikeouts through 25 2/3 innings of work. It&#8217;s also worth noting that in 16 of Keller&#8217;s 21 starts this season, he has gone a minimum of six innings, which would be good for any bullpen that has seen its fair share of work this season</p>
<h3><strong>Contract Situation: </strong></h3>
<p>Keller signed a 5-year, $77 million contract with the Pirates two winters ago, which is only going into the second year of that extension. On paper, it would seem weird to trade a player like that right away, but the Pirates are on pace to have one of the worst records in baseball this year, which could trigger a huge overhaul of the roster.</p>
<p>As of now, the organization is unsure what to do with the 29-year-old right-hander as they ponder the team&#8217;s future.  When Keller signed the extension with Pittsburgh, it showed his commitment to the team, but it&#8217;s not impossible that he is moved for the right price, whether as a standalone or as part of a trade package.</p>
<h3><strong>How does Keller help the Blue Jays?</strong></h3>
<p>It&#8217;s no secret the Blue Jays need starting pitching help. Having Eric Lauer emerge as a quality arm is a huge asset for them, but the team also need to look at 2026 and beyond.</p>
<p>As of now, Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer are free agents this winter, Kevin Gausman&#8217;s contract is up in 2026, and Jose Berrios can opt out of his contract should he choose to following the 2026 season. The <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/report-toronto-blue-jays-interested-dylan-cease">Blue Jays</a> do have arms such as Alek Manoah, who&#8217;s been recovering from Tommy John surgery, Bowden Francis, who has struggled mightily in 2025, and other arms such as Jake Bloss, Ricky Tiedemann and Trey Yesavage, who are still young and developing, that could be rotation fixtures next season and beyond.</p>
<p>Considering the future of the rotation in a state of flux, the team can add a staple to the rotation in Keller, who would only be 32 at the end of his current contract.</p>
<hr />
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Going as far back to<a href="https://www.fantasyalarm.com/player-news/3664301/passan-keller-could-be-a-fit-for-blue-jays/"> late June</a> this season, Jeff Passan has been writing about what players are most likely to be acquired/sold at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. The name that came up for the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Blue Jays</a> was Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller.  Let's take a look and see what the Pirates have with the 29-year-old right-hander.
<h3><strong>Scouting Report: </strong></h3>
Standing at 6'3 and 212 lbs, Mitch is a former second-round pick of the Pirates in the 2014 MLB draft. From 2018 to 2020, he was the Pirates' top prospect in the organization.  Across seven seasons in Pittsburgh, Keller owns a career 4.43 ERA, an 8.1 bWAR and 784 career strikeouts.

Keller's pitching arsenal incorporates a 4-seam fastball (average 94 mph), sweeper, slider, sinker, curveball, changeup, and cutter.  His strikeout rate this season is lower than normal at 18.4%, but he's done a good job at limiting walks this season as his walk rate is down to its lowest at 5.8 % across 125 innings pitched in 2025. Keller was an all-star in 2023 and set the single-season strikeout record in Pirates franchise history by recording 210 strikeouts across 194 1/3 innings.  While he has struggled with giving up home runs in the last two seasons, giving up 25 in 2023 and 23 last season, Keller has only given up 10 home runs so far across 21 starts with the team.

https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1949182973104029701

So far in July, he's posted a 2.10 ERA with 20 strikeouts through 25 2/3 innings of work. It's also worth noting that in 16 of Keller's 21 starts this season, he has gone a minimum of six innings, which would be good for any bullpen that has seen its fair share of work this season
<h3><strong>Contract Situation: </strong></h3>
Keller signed a 5-year, $77 million contract with the Pirates two winters ago, which is only going into the second year of that extension. On paper, it would seem weird to trade a player like that right away, but the Pirates are on pace to have one of the worst records in baseball this year, which could trigger a huge overhaul of the roster.

As of now, the organization is unsure what to do with the 29-year-old right-hander as they ponder the team's future.  When Keller signed the extension with Pittsburgh, it showed his commitment to the team, but it's not impossible that he is moved for the right price, whether as a standalone or as part of a trade package.
<h3><strong>How does Keller help the Blue Jays?</strong></h3>
It's no secret the Blue Jays need starting pitching help. Having Eric Lauer emerge as a quality arm is a huge asset for them, but the team also need to look at 2026 and beyond.

As of now, Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer are free agents this winter, Kevin Gausman's contract is up in 2026, and Jose Berrios can opt out of his contract should he choose to following the 2026 season. The <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/report-toronto-blue-jays-interested-dylan-cease">Blue Jays</a> do have arms such as Alek Manoah, who's been recovering from Tommy John surgery, Bowden Francis, who has struggled mightily in 2025, and other arms such as Jake Bloss, Ricky Tiedemann and Trey Yesavage, who are still young and developing, that could be rotation fixtures next season and beyond.

Considering the future of the rotation in a state of flux, the team can add a staple to the rotation in Keller, who would only be 32 at the end of his current contract.

<hr />

&nbsp;

Blue Jays trade deadline target: Mitch Keller

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) reacts after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against the New York Yankees during game three of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium

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