Pirates' mismanagement of Mitch Keller reached egregious height in Monday's start

When most MLB teams prepare to offer a pitcher to contending teams at the trade deadline, they manage their workload to get the best possible return on the market. But not the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates have long been one of the clearest sellers before the 2025 trade deadline, despite an early managerial change that set them on a winning streak. Pittsburgh has spent the season in last place, and it should be willing to make drastic moves to improve next year's team and keep Paul Skenes around as long as possible. Still, they put their best trade chip in a bad situation on Monday night.

Mitch Keller fired 73 pitches in two innings against the scuffling San Francisco Giants. He allowed three runs on three hits and three walks in what may have been Keller's final start in black and gold.

The Pirates are not publicly certain in their plan for Keller ahead of the deadline. They could sell high on him and secure offensive reinforcements for Paul Skenes to finally provide adequate run support, or they could hold onto Keller to keep a veteran and a long-term Pirate to stabilize the rotation. Despite the lack of clarity, interested teams are still reaching out to Pittsburgh's front office. The Blue Jays, Red Sox, Cubs, Mets and Yankees are among the teams reportedly "in" on Keller.

Pirates shouldn't have let potential trade candidate Mitch Keller burn his arm

Since the 29-year-old is so highly coveted around the league — and by multiple teams with strong farm systems — the Pirates should have kept him out of the rotation until they were certain about their plans for him. At the very least, they shouldn't have made him put this much stress on his arm in his final outing before Thursday's deadline!

Contending teams value pitchers with minimal mileage on their arms to ensure maximum health in the second half. For example, Garrett Crochet wasn't traded at last year's deadline, but the White Sox limited him to four-inning outings before the deadline and in the second half to get the best possible return for him when the time came to make a trade. Pittsburgh isn't jumping out of last place anytime soon, and it should prioritize its future before allowing Keller to throw 73 pitches in two innings in a game that doesn't matter.

Regardless of whether the Pirates plan to trade Keller, their mismanagement of his potential final start with the team could've cost them improved offers if things had gotten worse. Whether it does or doesn't, it was a bad look.