5 Pirates trade chips entering final week in Pittsburgh ahead of trade deadline.

With the All-Star Game now in the rearview mirror, all eyes turn to the July 31 trade deadline. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, that means several long-time members of the club might be in their final days in a Pirates uniform.

The fire sale will soon be in full swing, and a plethora of contenders are sniffing around Pittsburgh's veterans. Over the next couple of weeks, many of these players will say farewell, moving on to greener pastures as the organization looks to infuse youth into the roster in hopes of a brighter future.

For the Pirates, this is about more than just jettisoning veterans on expiring deals. It's also about getting out from under multi-year big money commitments for a team that, unfortunately, is nowhere near ready for contention.

These five players' days in a Pirates uniform are numbered

Starting Pitcher Mitch Keller

There might not be a player more heavily involved in the rumor mill than starting pitcher Mitch Keller. The division-rival Cubs registered early interest in Keller, and even if they see him as more of a fallback option, both the New York Mets and New York Yankees have been rumored to have substantial interest in the 29-year-old righty.

Beyond those two clubs, a laundry list of contenders, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and others, are all looking for reinforcements in the rotation.

Keller isn't an ace, but with a 3.48 ERA over 119 innings, he's a more-than-solid mid-rotation option that is one of the better arms on the market. Pittsburgh has Keller under contract through 2028 with a reasonable, but escalating salary, meaning they don't have to trade him now, even though they likely will.

Keller's value has never been higher, and without a clear pathway to contention on the horizon, the club will be motivated to shed his salary before it balloons further. Simply put, Keller is as good as gone.

Infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa

While he's not truly an impact player, Isiah Kiner-Falefa will likely join Keller with the trade deadline approaching. With so many contenders needing help in the infield and upgrade options looking scarce, Kiner-Falefa's blend of contact ability and solid glove work will have an appeal.

Whether it's as a low-end option as a starter for a team that missed out on a bigger fish, or as an option to shore up a contender's utility infield spot, he'll have a market.

On the oft chance that Pittsburgh can't align with a trade partner, he could also end up as a DFA candidate. Kiner-Falefa is in the final year of his contract, and the club could look to move on and give the opportunity at shortstop to Cam Devanney, who was acquired in the Adam Frazier trade.

At 28 years old, Devanney might not be the most intriguing option, but as a rookie, he'd be much more cost-effective moving forward, and his .272/.366/.565 18-homer line at Triple-A provides some encouragement that he could be a diamond-in-the-rough. That alone should be enough to push IKF out of town.

Closer David Bednar

Relievers are always in high demand at the trade deadline for a variety of reasons. Some teams realize they miscalculated the effectiveness of their current group, others are bitten by the injury bug, and still others determine that their best path forward is to take a good bullpen and add to it in order to become dominant.

After an early-season hiccup that led to a brief demotion to Triple-A, David Bednar is back to his dominant self that Pirates fans came to know during his run from 2021 through 2023. In fact, with career-bests in strikeout rate (34.6%) and ground ball rate (45.3%), an argument can be made that 2025 has been the best season of the 30-year-old's career.

Pittsburgh has Bednar under control through 2026, but relievers can be volatile, as his 2024 campaign (5.77 ERA) showed. As a result, it's a foregone conclusion that Bednar will be suiting up elsewhere for the 2025 stretch run.

Third Baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes

On the surface, Ke'Bryan Hayes would seem anchored to the Pirates for the foreseeable future. His atrocious .238/.284/.293 batting line and two home runs would seem unattractive at face value, and his contract runs through 2029.

But there are two factors that make Hayes likely to be a goner. First, his glove is fantastic, and he leads all MLB third basemen with 13 defensive runs saved, owning a large margin over the second-place performer (Seattle's Benjamin Williamson with 9 DRS). Secondly, the market is really soft for third base, and there are plenty of contenders with needs.

That perfect storm of circumstances, plus Hayes' former billing as a top prospect and relatively recent history of a reasonable offensive showing (.762 OPS in 2023), has made it all but a guarantee that he is dealt by the July 31 deadline.

Starting Pitcher Andrew Heaney

With a 4.59 ERA at the All-Star break, 34-year-old southpaw Andrew Heaney might not be the most sought-after arm on the trade market, but that doesn't mean there isn't a chance his days with the Pirates are numbered.

The left-handed starter market is pretty thin, making Heaney a somewhat attractive candidate for a contender in need of a lefty to fill out the back of their rotation.

Furthermore, with the remainder of a modest $5.25 million contract that expires at the end of the year, Heaney is also a prime DFA candidate to pave the way for Bubba Chandler or a number of other young arms that are both at the top of Pittsburgh's prospect rankings while also knocking on the door of the big leagues.

One way or another, Heaney doesn't feel long for the roster.