6:01pm: Rosenthal now tweets that while the Rangers have done background work on that quartet of players, they’re actually not a part of the current discussions surrounding Kela.
July 26, 5:29pm: The Rangers are considering right-handed starter Tyler Eppler, outfielder Jordan Luplow, shortstop Kevin Newman and right-handed reliever Dovydas Neverauskas in their talks with the Pirates, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Those are just some of the names being discussed, it seems, and it’s not clear exactly which combination(s) of those players is on the table.
July 25: As they look to extend an excellent pre-deadline run of success, the Pirates may now be looking into making some roster improvements. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Bucs have “legitimate interest” in Rangers closer Keone Kela.
Whether or not Kela ends up on the Pittsburgh roster, the news marks a notable potential shift in that club’s approach. It had long seemed that the Pirates were trending toward at least a light sell-off of some veterans. But now, with less than a week left until the trade deadline, the team has flown back to within six games of the division pace and three out of Wild Card position.
Of course, even if the Pirates decide to push for contention, that does not necessarily mean they will hit the trade market at full throttle. There’s not much reason to expect that the light-spending organization will part with significant young talent to add rental pieces, for example.
Kela, though, would potentially be a reasonable target who’d add value now and into the future. The Pirates already have a quality closer under control for years to come in Felipe Vazquez, and have received excellent production from several members of their relief unit, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t stand to improve.
It’s fair to note, too, that the Pirates have in the past pursued somewhat non-linear approaches to the deadline. There’s time still for shifts in the standings to change their approach. And the club may also be weighing some roster re-positioning that’s not targeted solely at getting better right away. To offer one wholly speculative concept, the Bucs could hypothetically consider trying to achieve value on a pitcher like Kela while also selling Vazquez, if a contender (the Red Sox come to mind) is willing to offer a whopping package for the electric left-hander.
Whatever the case, Kela’s remaining contract rights make for an interesting asset on this summer’s trade market. The Rangers are surely focused first on moving more expensive or less controllable players, to the extent possible. But now may also be a good time to cash in a pitcher who has had plenty of ups but also some downs (arm health and some off-field issues) in recent seasons. And the Pirates could perhaps be amenable to sending some controllable starting pitching depth in a trade, which is just what the Rangers appear to be seeking.
Since he broke into the big leagues, the 25-year-old Kela has mostly been a high-quality hurler. He owns a 3.42 ERA over 168 2/3 career innings, with 11.0 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9, and the bottom-line results would look much better were it not for a forgettable 2016 campaign. Though he blew his first save of the current season just last night, Kela has locked down 23 victories for the Rangers this year.
Cost is always a factor, of course, and Kela is earning a budget-friendly $1.2MM this year. He entered the current season with exactly three years of MLB service, so he comes with two more years of arbitration control after the present season. While the save tallies will boost his earnings, Kela figures to remain rather affordable until he reaches the open market.
You never have enough pitching. Go Bucs!
As the article points out, it is a matter of cost. Could be a very smart addition if he can be had for minimum cost in Prospects. My preference would be to try and find an infielder with controllable years and do some roster maintenance at the deadline and in August. Freese, Rodriquez, Harrison, Glasnow and Brault all would appear. To have very limited roles going forward.
The Rangers aren’t trading Kela for minimal prospect cost. He’s talented, young, cheap and controllable. If they move him, it will only be because they like the return they’re receiving.
Lol, minimal return.
You must also be a Yankee fan. You think you can get another teams quality player without giving up quality prospect(s). Don’t think so. Kela isn’t going to be free.
Gotta love how Yankees fans still get thrown under the bus even when they aren’t involved in the topic of conversation. Original and effective, buddy.
Thank you, I thought so myself.
We throwing Yankee fans under the bus here or what?
If Hand and Cimber get you Mejia, Kela is going to cost a good prospect in this market. Rangers aren’t giving up a legit, young, controllable closer for peanuts.
Hand AND Cimber both of whom are having great years and also have years of control. the deals are not really comparable
Yep. But again. A legit, young closer will cost a good prospect. Throwing us unwanted pieces or minimal prospects isn’t going to get a pitcher of Kela’s caliber.
I understand what you are saying, but for the pirates his value ‘should not’ be as high as those in texas value him as he would be a setup for felipe. Also no where near a top 20 than the hand/cimber deal brought since it not only brought in a legit controlled closer but also a legit controlled setup man.
Maybe a top 100 prospect for someone who is in dire need otherwise a couple midrange prospects with and change for teams like the pirates. and thats probably why a deal with the pirates doesn’t get done unless the rangers would be happy with someone like Glasnow as a center piece (doubt that)
Then the Pirates sure won’t get him
A solid reliever with 3 1/3 years of team control isn’t going to be acquired at a minimum cost in prospects
The Giants would trade Melancon back to you to solve your closer problem/
Closer problem? That’s funny.
As the article points out the Pirates have Vazquez closing so they are set. Kela just makes them stronger.
Closer problems, I assume you don’t watch baseball
It was sarcasm. The Bucs traded Melancon for Vazquez and Hearn a couple of years back. Melancon has never been the same since. I like the humor.
Melancon lost speed on his fast ball and just looks like a thrower out there now. Another big contract the giants will eat. Giants are good at signing over the hill old players to big contracts.
Im assuming that is sarcasm
I like the idea. Contract fits into what the pirates like, Control is there, talent is there.. only questions are health and personal issues (that may be mostly resolved?)
the only problem is the cost. Hes going to cost too much to get. Hes the type of pitcher we’d trade Harrison for in a package.. and the rangers don’t want anything like that. maybe they’re interested in something like a glasnow… but not sure they’re ready to let him go yet.
Personally i don’t think it happens but if it did, that would be great.
Funny I was just going to say they should try and pry Kevin Gausman away from the Orioles, and fangraphs actually posted the same thing.
I really hope they make a few moves, nothing earth shattering, but just let the fans know they care.
I keep seeing people say the Pirates should add a starter but I can’t figure out which pitcher they think needs to come out of the rotation.
I’d much rather spend the assets on a controllable high leverage reliever, like Kela.
If Kuhl isn’t coming back, they can send Brault down to get stretched out as a #6 starter.
Agreed the past couple weeks its hard to say which starter “needs” replaced
I’d lean to Nova simply because we have a history for him and that history says he is streaky.. how ever when he is good for 10-20 games there are few better so… its rough to make that call. .. and of course theres also the dollars involved with nova.
They don’t have one starter that when they go out you can say yeah we’ll probably win if we score three runs.
That’s true Joe W. I think Kela would be a good addition to the bullpen. But, what the Pirates really need is a true Ace starting pitcher. Don’t know how they would go about acquiring one,but,look what happens both times they appeared in a Wild Card Game. They faced two star pitchers and got shut down..
They also faced another star pitcher in a wild card game and lit the guy up too,
I think that they should to add starter not because the rotation is lacking, but they are all young guys who I would assume start to show signs of fatigue come October. Making a trade like the JA Happ a few years back would make a lot of sense.
Bucs can trade for Happ again if they want.
Cost controlled starting pitching depth we have. With our entire 5 under control through next season and Keller taking over Nova spot unless they move Nova before FA Holmes elper Brault are available.
I thought of Kela but unlike Hand he’s under control via arbitration (and he’s racked up saves this year) as opposed to being under a team friendly contract, so a bit more risk for the team. But, Kela has only been good for a while and only been a closer for less, he shouldn’t cost nearly as much as Hand.
Rangers already have Calhoun and Gallo, so they might not want him but Will Craig is destined to be traded to the AL at some point. The Pirates have 4 middle infield prospects of note. Lots of pitching. They should have the ammo to get a deal like this done without trading the top prospects.
I like this idea.
according to cots, he is actually not following the arb schedule, because he signed an extension. He signed a 4 year 22mil extension that runs through 2021 withclub options for 22 and 23.
Kela may not cost exactly what Hand did but unless the offer is in that ballpark, there’s no reason for Texas to deal.
If pirates want to be buyers they better acquire 4 new starting pitchers if they want to compete
And a new shortstop and a few more relievers.
Jordy Mercer -0.4 WAR according to baseball reference. Your starting rotation is awful besides Tailon. The whole teams ERA is 4.21 and I can’t name a good reliever on the pirates besides Vazquez and maybe Glasnow.
Kyle Crick, Richard Rodriguez, and Edgar Santana are all having good seasons.
Please explain this.
Not sure what he’d take but dealing one of our blocked back end starters plus one of our young AAA middle infielders makes sense. The prospect of adding to the pen while looking to deal Vasquez for a haul is intriguing.
Throw us 3B Hayes and LHP Hearn. Maybe we can tack on Profar for someone like RHP Holmes.
Hayes and Hearn are worth more than Kela.
As a rangers fan, we would get more back from the pirates trading kela to you then others. We need starting pitching bad! Don’t be shock if Texas packages another player so we can get some prospects back. I feel like kela could get you 2 good minor leaguers, maybe 3.
Trevor Williams for Kela?
No chance. Trevor Williams is a back end starter with burnt up control. Controllable good relievers cost more than that. If the Rangers went that route you’d have to think Glasnow would be much more likely because there is a much higher ceiling.
Pirates need some more immediate front line pitching for ’18/19, Talk hamels into waving his no trade? Then hope ray’s pixie dust turns him back into a front line guy then pirates pick up his option and make a legit run at the division in ’19? Moving to the NL Central might make a good bit of difference for him.
return would depend if and how much of the contract the rangers eat.
by himself Kela probably worth a couple of the pirates 10-20 org prospects and maybe some change. edit: to the pirates as they already have a good closer.
Pirates have an 88 million payroll this season do you really believe it’s in anyone’s best interest to hand out Cole Hamels 21 million next year? That’d be 20% of their payroll to a p[itcher who has seen much better days.
if you read my comment i said, if Cole is back to being a front line type rather than a nearly washed up back end guy… front line guy at 21M isn’t horrible, even for the pirates who have ‘financial flexibility’ due to freeing up ~20m in salary the past couple seasons.and no major needs besides pitching that Cole would help solve… I know its a pipe dream.. getting cole to waive the no trade to go to pittsburgh would put an end to it pretty quick (assuming they’re on the no trade)
But the Rangers, as proven with the deal with San Fran, are more than willing to eat a ton of money to get the prospect they want. If the Rangers throw in $15mil meaning the Bucs are on the hook for about $15mil between this year and next, does that make it better? I would take him for $10mil for one season ($5 this yr and 10 next) with the cost of starters these days.
well next year is an option so kinda .. weird if cole doesnt’ rebound some that option might not be picked up so… If they could get hamels for under 10/year its worth a risk for the pirates. for sure.. but Coles value is at an all time low probably… having a bad run this year and last year wasn’t very impressive stat wise. The reason i want him is because Searage has had good luck with some Vets. If he could fix Cole watch out NL central (once every five days anyway lol)
Lol by himself Kela is going to be close to Hand’s value. So think top 3-10 Pirates prospects (leave off top 3 as they’re top 100 overall).
the Hand trade is skewed by cimber(?) as well who also is a very good pitcher on his own. Kela isn’t going to bring a mejia type prospect unless there ends up being a bidding war in which case the pirates should get out right away.
Kela isnt’ worth as much to the pirates as they already have another ‘cheap’ controlled closer who is one of the better ones in the league. Not down playing Kela he looks very good, but to the pirates his value ‘shouldn’t’ be nearly as high as a recent two time all star closer with control in Hand and a second reliever who is having a lot of success on the first year of his rookie contract in Cimber
I didn’t say Kela would cost a Mejia type. He’ll absolutely cost one or two of Pitt’s Top 10 prospects though.
something to keep in mind.. while the pirates aren’t stacked with top 100 can’t miss prospects.. their system is fairly strong. their 15 guy is about the same ‘value’ as their 5 guy, they’re 27 guy is about the same value as their 16 guy.. etc (using pipelines rankings). They’re not of the “can’t miss” type but quality. so when you say 3-10, its about the same as saying 3-20 give or take. pick a pitcher or two out of those 20ish players (i think rangers are mostly looking for pitching?) and then go from there.
So if Texas did Hamels and Kela and threw in $15 mil to offset the remaining $30 mil on Hamels contract, what do you think the Rangers would be able to get from the Bucs?
It still wouldn’t be crazy good. Coles value is fairly low. With last season being pretty poor and this season being pretty disastrous. If Texas ate nearly all of this years salary and 6m of next years (for the buy out if cole doesn’t recover) you could expect neal to jump on it and try to work it out. but that really saves no money for texas and still may not give them a huge haul.
instead of the pirates offering a couple midrange prospects for kela you may see one or two of their top 5s in an offer but probably not a top 100. not really looking at the numbers or anything just a guess.
Cole is a pretty big risk, imo that and his no trade is probably why he goes no where. Its a pipedream a halfway decent hamels fills one of the pirates biggest needs though.
The 15 would be close to what you just said. He probably has $10 left on this year and then the $6 buyout. Bucs then have the option of letting him go or paying what amounts to $14mil for next year after having had this year for free.
id like to see Texas get Baz and/or Hearn for Kela
Baz isn’t happening. Hearn, possibly but ‘the brass’ really likes hearn.. they drafted him.. he didnt’ sign and then they traded for him later, just to give you an idea on how much they like him. he’d be a tough sell that might have the pirates walk away if its insisted on though its probably right about where Keone’s value is.
Another Pirate half-measure. They need to think big, like putting together a package for Eugnenio Suarez.
If it comes down to giving up to much then they should pass.Pirates are in good position here as they really don’t have to buy anybody cause they are loaded with depth everywhere, so staying put is not a problem.Frazier and Meadows will be back joining the team soon and then we will have a pretty good puzzle.
Would love the Pirates to land this guy but I can’t imagine why Texas would part with him now and if so what the cost might be. Instead of prospects the Pirates could use one of Dickerson, Marte or Polanco to be the center of a trade package and then use Meadows the rest of the way.
I’d love to see Kela sent to the Bucs for Marte and maybe a decent/good pitcher/pitching prospect. Getting Marte would allow the Rangers to bring DeShields back up and get rid of Tocci. He is downright garbage. Put Marte in center and then use DeShields off the bench or put him in left field until Gallo learns to hit or Calhoun gets sent down.
Marte is a five-win player on a reasonable deal. There’s no way the Pirates trade him for Kela straight up, let alone adding a piece.
It doesn’t hurt to dream a little
Rangers don’t need to get older. They need upper minors starting pitching. I could see Kela and one other to the Bucs for a better SP prospect but I highly doubt the Rangers do anything for a player that would slot into the MLB team. I didn’t even really see too many bad contracts on the Bucs that the Rangers could absorb to get a better player so not sure entirely how they match up. I hate to see a guy that is that true closer type of a bulldog leave for too little. Finally have a closer and trade him so it better be for a decent haul.
That’s the most one-sided trade proposal I’ve seen. The Pirates, who are verging on contending, send arguably their best player (2nd on the team in WAR, has been near the top for several years now) for one relief pitcher with a WAR of just over 2 the last two seasons combined.
Kela just isn’t worth a Dickerson, Marte or Polanco, especially to the pirates where they already have a good closer.
Meadows may not be back in the MLB until september. after his week or two he wasn’t very good at the plate.
The Rangers need starting pitching badly, and Kela is likely the best trade chip they have that they’d actually part with in the right deal. So I can’t see him being moved in a deal that doesn’t bring back a decent near-ready starting prospect.
I don’t think the Rangers have much to build around at the moment. Mazara is a nice player, not a real star though.. Andrus is a good SS. Gallo can’t hit over the mendoza line. Willie Calhoun figures to have a nice bat. Guzman is another young player but then what? You have no pitching rotation at all and that offense isn’t good enough to hang with the Astros or the rising A’s, I’d take a near ready SP if he was the best player offered for Kela but I think it’s going to be awhile until Texas is back. Maybe Kela for Glasnow would hold some appeal for both sides. Rangers could attempt to fix Glasnow and have more controllable seasons there and the Pirates would get an instant upgrade today. I don’t think the Pirates should be buyers but if they are I suppose that makes some sense.
The Rangers have the makings of a solid young lineup. People tend to forget because they’ve been around for a while that all these guys are still very young. Mazara, for instance, just turned 23 in April. And neither Gallo or Odor have turned 25 yet. And DeShields (25), Profar (25), Guzman (23), Calhoun (23) and Kiner-Falefa (23) have all have the talent to be solid regulars. It would be a mistake in my opinion to assume that what we’ve seen from these guys to date is all we’ll ever see. Mazara’s taken a nice step forward this season, and the light seems to be coming on finally for Odor and Profar. As those guys continue to improve, so will the lineup.
The pitching staff, however, is a different story entirely. There is very little talent there at both the major and high minor league levels. This team will not compete again until it addresses that issue.
I’d rather use Meadows as a headliner for a package to get an Archer/DeGrom type starter, that’s what the team needs to actually make a significant leap forward. Then try to extend Dickerson semi-cheap and if that doesn’t work, I would think at least one of Luplow/Martin/Reynolds could be serviceable.
Exactly– the Pirates need to think big.
No archer
Pirates would be insane to send one of those players for a reliever while they’re contending, especially considering meadows struggled after his hot start
a busted prospect like glasnow and some pop up guys like oneil cruz and someone lower ranked probably gets it done
Keone Kela for Taylor Hearn and Travis MacGregor
If the Pirates want to think big and/or start playing MLB The Show in real life…
Trade Trevor Williams for Kela, sign Corey Dickerson to an extension and then trade Meadows (plus) for Chris Archer.
What would the Pirates give up for Kela and Profar?
I wouldn’t include Profar in a deal to pittsburgh, reduces Kela value, pirates don’t need a poor fielding short stop which would be the only place for him
Profar doesn’t have negative value that doesnt make any sense. Adding Shin Soo Choo’s full contract with Kela would diminish value but certainly not profar.
Preface: Assuming no other moves are made…
Profar hasn’t been any good until this year and even that isn’t all that amazing. His defense is poor (at best) and thats not what the pirates need out of a shortstop.. if so they’ll just throw kang back there when he’s healthy again.
His best qualities are hes cheap and versatile with a lot of control. The pirates do like that..but they have a handful of those already who are younger, cheaper and in some cases just better.
so.. yeah to the pirates.. not very desirable… pirates need pitching
now if you wanted to do a straight change of venue swap.. that might be doable but off the top of my head i really can’t think of a good candidate for that but i know the pirates got one or three of those types who might benefit from new coaches seeing them
Profar’s defense at SS has been bad, but I’d still have to chance on him getting better, considering:
He’s OPSd above .800 at every minors stop since A-ball. With regular ABs I think there is more consistency and upside in his bat(not power so much, but recognition and control). I’d also imagine he spent all offseason working at 2nd. The starting SS(with five years left on contract) had hit .800 the last two seasons and had nine straight seasons of 145 or more games. But the keystone had Odor, maybe the worst regular in baseball(162 games and 651 PAs of .649 OPS). I’m not excusing his crappy play at SS because it wasn’t pretty, but I do believe he is much more capable than that. Some say he’s toast, but if I was the Pirates or Brewers I’d consider giving him a shot.
All that might be true but jurickson profar doesn’t diminish kela’s Return. Adding him in a kela trade doesn’t downgrade your return. If Pitt didn’t want him they could non tender him this offseason
I know pitching is important, but they need more than a reliever
Proud for the Bucks and their big run. Very proud for their fans that their Ownership is committed to reward success by being buyers at the deadline instead of sellers and excuses at the trading deadline such as the Cardinals. The Cardinals look like they have given up on the field!!!! And why wouldn’t they? The president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, is about to run out of people to hide behind. The failure of the Cardinals is his fault alone!!! Casey Stengel couldn’t be a winner with that line up. Who is their 3rd baseman? See??
To all the speculators who didn’t really read the article, Texas needs starting pitching, so Brault or Glasnow are strong possibilities.
No thanks on Brault. Maybe Glasnow if the 2nd piece is really good.
everyone on the updated list i of players the rangers are said to be interested in i’m okay with except Newman. Though if it where me ( and clearly its not ) if there was an extra kickback i could be persuaded.
That’s a lot
It’s a lot in quantity. The quality is pretty questionable IMO.
I pitched Will Craig, Stephen Alemais, Neverauskaus and Eppler on another thread. More of a starting offer, I doubt it would be enough.
I’d be willing to give up 4 of the team’s #7-#12 prospects.
Keller, Meadows, Swaggerty and Baz would be off limits and Newman or Hayes would be very very difficult to part with for a reliever, even one with as much value as Kela. But the guys listed above or Cole Tucker, Hearn (would hate to move him but would do it for Kela) Lolo Sanchez, etc. I’d be willing to deal.
4 of the top 12 prospects for this guy? No way
Crazy for the Pirates to give any minor league talent up for a closer. Cubs and Brewers own that division and probably will until half the team hit free agency in 2021. (Cubs) They should go all in on a rebuild, not the typical Pirate half effort. Besides that, when was the last time a Ranger closer went on to have a successful career as a closer?
He wouldn’t be the closer in Pittsburgh
If the Rangers are willing to send Kela to Pittsburgh for any type of package that includes NevershouldpitchintheMLBkas, Neal Huntington should not even stop to think about it. He should just pull the trigger and include some of Hurdles left over Double Bubble buckets as a complimentary thank you to the Rangers. Dovydas has appeared in 13 innings this year, with a 11.85 ERA. Sure, his AAA numbers aren’t bad at a 1.30 ERA, but that is probably where his ceiling should be, in the minors. Luplow, thats Clints new golden boy, he isn’t going anywhere. He’ll end up being the 4th outfielder for the Pirates for the rest of the season, while Meadows “gets his at-bats” down in the minors – AKA Lets recoup some of that Super 2 time on him. Newman is 24, with Cole Tucker ahead of him prospect wise, we can afford to let the Rangers have him..Eppler, not much of a prospect, just a lower lever Pitcher, Rangers shouldn’t be interested.
Pull the Trigger, Newman and NevershouldpitchintheMLBkas for Kela!