This young pitcher's breakout may influence Pirates to trade Mitch Keller

All the talk about the future of the Pirates' rotation is always headlined by Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler. While Mitch Keller plays a major role in the rotation, being the most expensive arm and a consistent contributor, his future in Pittsburgh feels murky. Ben Cherington has shown recent willingness to move on from him at the deadline, and that discussion will certainly open back up in the offseason.

One big reason why the chances of a trade are more likely these days is the emergence of Braxton Ashcraft. The right-handed pitcher has found a lot of success as a reliever, and was given the opportunity to open up games as a starter following the deadline, and has done even better in that role.

Fans didn't really expect him to be a consistent starter, yet he has earned it, and the Pirates will likely give him a longer chance to make an impact, similarly to how they managed Carmen Mlodzinski.

As a starter, Ashcraft posted a 1.10 ERA in his first 16.1 innings with a 0.61 WHIP. As a reliever, his ERA dropped to 3.56 across 30.1 innings, along with a 1.48 WHIP. We have a larger sample size out of the bullpen, yet it can't be ignored that he's been more dominant as a starter. If that trend continues, that represents a strong upgrade to the rotation, and is worth a longer look.

The emergence of Braxton Ashcraft may persuade Pirates to explore a Mitch Keller trade again in offseason.

Keller is obviously a very prized pitcher, despite his average numbers. He is consistently at the top of the league in quality starts, and is about the have 30 starts in a season for the fourth year in a row. Many considered him the top arm on the market at the deadline, yet the Pirates held on.

The quest for major league bats will be a bumpy road for the Pirates again this offseason, given their frustrating spending habits. Now that there are multiple additional proven options to try out in the rotation, trading Keller in exchange for offense seems realistic once again.

We just have got to hope such a deal does not turn into another prospect haul that includes multiple Low-A minor leaguers. That strategy at the deadline has not been terrible, thanks to immediate breakouts from Callan Moss and Ivan Brethowr, but Pittsburgh cannot waste another year of Paul Skenes.