Mitch Keller has been optioned to Triple-A, per Kevin Gorman of the Tribune-Review (via Twitter). Trevor Cahill has also been placed on the injured list with a left calf injury.
This is a disappointing, if potentially short-term development for the Pirates’ young right-hander. Keller is still just 25-years-old, but he’s had a rough go of it on the hill in 2021. In 12 starts, Keller has been tagged for a 7.04 ERA across 47 1/3 innings. A 4.95 FIP and .355 BABIP points to some bad luck for Keller this season. He has a 22.4 percent strikeout rate and 12.7 percent walk rate, and while both numbers are below-average, they do represent an improvement over his 2020 output.
Per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, manager Derek Shelton said, “Mitch Keller is going to be a good major league pitcher. When young players, young pitchers have struggles, it’s our job to come up with a program and a plan to help them get back to this level and be successful at this level. That’s what we’re doing with Mitch.”
Cahill has similarly been dealt some hard luck as the veteran has posted a 6.57 ERA, but just 4.04 FIP across 37 innings. In the short term, Wil Crowe will step into Cahill’s spot in the rotation. The former Nationals’ farmhand has eight appearances on the season (seven starts) with a 7.26 ERA/6.12 FIP across 31 innings.
Geoff Hartlieb has also been recalled, notes John Dreker of Piratesbaseball.com. The 27-year-old has just one appearance this season, though he posted a 3.63 ERA in 22 1/3 innings of work last season.
clearing space for who?
Aaron Judge or Mike Trout
Any pitcher that gets DFA’d…literally any pitcher
I truly feel bad for Keller. I dont know what’s wrong with him. I think it’s a mind thing at this point. It’s not like he hasn’t shown the talent this year. In almost half of his starts, he’s went at least 5 innings with 5+ Ks and 2 ER or less. The other half, he looks completly lost. I’m really hoping he can get into the groove he was in 2019. He looked outstanding then and his ERA was as bad as it was because he had a .475 BABIP that season (highest ever in a season where a pitcher had at least 40 IP).
I was inquiring about Keller’s difficulties after watching him pitch against the Dodgers. Had he retired Julio Urias instead of giving up a two-run single, his start could have been much different, That’s what’s frustrating about guys like him. They’re a key out here and there from turning it around. Quite a few teams would probably like a crack at turning him around. Of course, the Pirates can’t afford to let that happen. I’m hoping he can work things out.
He’s gone from potential ace to ‘will he even be a quality major league pitcher’?
The Pirates just can’t have nice things.
They just need to trade Keller to TB. He’ll fulfill that potential in no time.
Hopefully the Pirates are done GIVING players to the Rays.
If I never see Hartlieb pitch again, it will be too soon. It seems to me like he either doesn’t throw any strikes and walks everyone, or throws everything right down the middle and gets tattooed. How he got that ERA last year, I don’t know.
About time
Goodwin got more RBI’s today than all the Pirates in their game combined.
Yes I saw that and why wasn’t he even given a chance by the Pirates? Lifetime .250 hitter is way better than some of the stiffs they have run out there. Not impressed by new management on this one.
As a pirates fan… I don’t know whether to laugh or cry… or both
Like a dehumidifier crying?
This was finally the move that needed to be made.Keller needs to learn to be consistent and he can learn that in AAA.
The problem is that the Pirates do not have any starters.
Will Crowe is not cutting it.
Steven Brault has been hurt all year.
Chad Kuhl is a reliever.Face the facts.
Anderson and Brubaker and that is it.
The best thing that they could do is use Crowe to start for 2-3 innings and bring in Shreve,Stratton,and/ or Underwood to do the same and they would have a chance to win.
And don’t bring in Holmes while playing in Milwaukee.
Pirates are in no mans land right now. It’s hard to watch them and even support them at this time. Astros for 5-6 years after leaving the NL for the AL, did what the Pirates are doing now. Dodgers did the same thing at the beginning of 2010 for 4-5 years.
The Astros were the worst team since the 1962-1964 Mets.The Dodgers,relatively speaking.were bad during the last McCourt years.The Royals,Tigers,Marlins,and Orioles have been very bad for several years recently.The problem with the Pirates though is that they get into these stretches where they basically have no hope of winning
When that happens over a period of time even good fans lose interest..
I really feel sorry for the management staff and players.I think that it was one of the reasons that the previous regime tried to be decent every year and hope that they could make the playoffs.What I am afraid is that there is no magical solution when these young players come up because they are all crap shoots especially with even infielders and outfielders falling like flies.
BC had no choice to do what he did as this team was going nowhere.But I am afraid that he is going to trade some of his best players and leave a shell of a bad team to get even worse.
There is no depth and trading their best player Marte for who I still think was an absolute mistake even if it saved them a lot of money.
They have had long stretches of bad baseball before but I did not follow them nearly as closely during those periods.
It is difficult to hear your team become the butt of jokes on a consistent basis and understand why.
I do think that BC is more attune to scouting and development and that is what the Pirates need to excel in.I just hope that I can still say that I am a fan when and if they do.
But quite frankly in the last 29 years only one small market team has won the World Series and that tells you worlds about the state of MLB.
I couldn’t agree more. There is no middle ground for a small market team. KC Royals has been the only team to win a World Series in 30 years. A’s, Indians, and Twins have been close, but not made it to achieving the ring. It’s unfortunate and baseball is at its peak. If they want to progress instead of regress, they need to make changes to help small market teams. I am very supportive of a cap space. This revenue sharing and luxury tax, is not helping these small market clubs. Even if Pittsburgh spent to their limit, it still wouldn’t be enough to over take the Dodgers or even Yankees or Red Sox. Padres can be in the mix here soon and this year is the year they make the baseball world believers. Pirates will never win a World Series in the current state of baseball. Mid-Market to large market clubs are winning yearly in the World Series. I am a baseball loyalist but starting to flip the channel when any baseball comes on TV in October. It’s pretty much the mid and big market clubs in the post season. I’ve watched the Indians a few times when they were in the thick of it. But once the small market clubs are out, I don’t have the heart to watch it any further. Money is overtaking the sport. Buy the best players and draft a name or two for trade bait each year, you will see the World Series.
What you say is largely true.Money took over the sport 25 years ago.Small market teams certainly can compete,but they cannot have nearly the depth of the other teams.The Pirates of the 1970’s had superstars on their teams.but It is rare that a small market team can keep a superstar now.Several are needed to win a WS.
Their highly competitive windows last maybe three years.Then they have to retool and there is no guarantee that it is going to work.
The wealthy teams can lose too,but generally with ineffective front offices.They win and draw fans which highly increases the money that they can spend.
I disagree that baseball is at its peak.I think that it started going downhill about the time that the length of these games got out of hand.They have not really figured out what to do about it.
I usually look at the glass as half full but one must also be a realist.
I personally don’t think he’s as good as billed
If it turns out that way I would not be surprised.You can have all the physical and statistical data tell you otherwise but the proof is in the pudding.He would not be the only young player from the previous regime that did not come close to meeting expectations.
Glasnow 2.0 ?
Watch did pitch shutouts in AAA.
except for the last two outings keller has generally improved but wildly inconsistent. a 10 day trip down to find that again might make a big difference.. may not and he gets traded to the astros where it becomes a cy-young pitcher.