1 Pirates non-Mitch Keller option emerges as offseason trade target, 1 already dealt

With one half of a Pittsburgh Pirates offseason prophecy now fulfilled, fans might want to revisit the other half. On Dec. 2, MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf predicted that the two non-Mitch Keller pitchers most likely to get traded by the Pirates were Johan Ovideo and Thomas Harrington. Ovideo was traded 48 hours later to the Boston Red Sox.

Is Harrington next? The former No. 36 overall pick was not long ago considered one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, but a difficult 2025 took a toll on his value. Nonetheless, at 24 years old, Harrington still has a ton of upside, making him an attractive change-of-scenery candidate.

Thomas Harrington makes all the sense in the world as the Pirates' next trade chip

The Pirates have a surplus of young pitching talent, and Harrington is no longer one of their top priorities, as far as the future of the starting rotation is concerned. Stumpf noted that Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft aren’t going anywhere, and that Mike Burrows’ 2025 campaign places him above Harrington in Pittsburgh's pecking order. There are other pitchers to consider, too, but Harrington's the odd man out. “There's upside there, but last year was rough and I think he's been leapfrogged by some of these other arms,” Stumpf wrote of Harrington.

Although Oviedo is now gone, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently suggested that another Pirates starter will be traded this offseason as Pittsburgh looks to add an impact bat. While Keller remains a possibility, plenty of fans and pundits believe that keeping Keller is a wise decision for the Pirates, as he’s one of the only arms left on the staff with significant MLB experience. 

Pirates observers have been discussing Harrington as a trade candidate for months, for multiple reasons. With his MLB reps still low, Harrington’s perceived potential is still shiny enough to attract suitors, especially clubs convinced that they could do a better job developing him than the Pirates have done.

His numbers in Triple-A last season were poor (5.34 ERA), and his appearances in the big leagues in 2025 didn’t go well, either. But you can convince yourself — by looking at Harrington's command — that a new franchise could unlock him. He feels like a really solid second or third piece in a package to bring back a bat. 

At the end of the day, the Pirates don’t have room for Harrington on their roster (given all of their other young arms). If they see Harrington wallowing away in Triple-A again in 2026, they’d be wise to trade him before that happens (and before his value declines even further).

This all leads us back to Stumpf’s offseason assessment for the Pirates, which could prove spot-on in due time if Pittsburgh finds the right deal to ship out Harrington.