Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Keone Kela To a NL Central Team?

The Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to be one of the most active teams leading up to the Trade Deadline.  They could look to a controllable reliever.

Most of the trade discussion around the Pittsburgh Pirates have been about their relief core.  The team has likely received some interest in lefty pending free agent Francisco Liriano, and, of course, there is the possibility of a blockbuster trade with Felipe Vazquez and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, another name that has been brought up in recent trade rumors is Keone Kela. Kela was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates as last year’s deadline as the team tried to find a reliable, controllable setup man for the foreseeable future.

Well, things have not gone exactly as planned.  There have been a few awkward interactions between Kela and the Pittsburgh media, he came into Spring Training with an injury and tried to pitch through it which led to him missing most of the season, and upon his return, he was suspended by the team for a contract violation.

Yet, since he has returned Kela has looked like the quality pitcher that the Bucs thought they were getting when they dealt for him. Kela has thrown in four games since returning to the Pittsburgh Pirates active roster. He has yet to give up a run and has struck out 6 hitters in 4 innings.  His fastball has its life back sitting 95-97, and his breaking pitch looks as sharp as ever.

With that being said, the Pirates are obviously sellers this year. There have been talks they could trade controllable assets like Felipe Vazquez and Starling Marte. If the team does not move Vazquez (which seems 50/50 at this point) they could look to deal Kela instead.  If the team does deal their current closer, then they may plan to shift Kela into the closer’s role.

Apparently, there is at least one team showing interest in Kela however. According to Robert Murray of The Athletic, the Milwaukee Brewers have interest in the Bucs reliever.  Murray tweeted:

"“#Brewers have talked to #Pirates about Keone Kela, sources tell The Athletic. Deal doesn’t appear imminent. Other teams involved.”"

Murray also stated that there are other teams in on Kela as well, but the Brewers are the only team he mentioned.  So he either was told by that source that it’s the Brewers and others, or the Brewers have had the most serious discussions to this point. For the Brewers to acquire Kela from the Pirates it could be a tough task. Yes, they made a trade for Jordan Lyles on Monday, but Lyles is a pending free agent and was struggling mightily before the trade. Kela, meanwhile, is pitching well and controlled through 2021.

Other team that could be interested in Kela are the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Dodgers.