The Athletic’s Jim Bowden recently polled a group of MLB executives to ask who they thought would be traded ahead of the trade deadline. Bowden revealed that the group of executives believes the Pittsburgh Pirates will trade starting pitcher Mitch Keller ahead of the deadline.

“A lot of teams have called Pittsburgh to inquire about Keller. The Pirates need offense and realize they’re going to have to trade from their starting rotation to acquire young, impact bats,” Bowden wrote. “Keller, 29, has a 3.90 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 17 starts. He’s signed through the 2028 season at an average annual salary of about $18 million. The Cubs and Mets are among the possible landing spots for Keller.”

Keller makes a lot of sense as a trade chip for the Pirates. Keller has three years left on his contract after this season, but the Pirates should still explore the idea of dealing him away because of their incredible pitching depth in the farm system.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, and San Diego Padres all make sense as potential landing spots.

The Tigers could deal away some top prospects to add depth behind Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty. The Cubs might not be the most likely landing spot because they’re in the National League Central with Pittsburgh, but they still desperately need to add a pitcher.

The Dodgers will likely be ultra-aggressive in pursuit of another pitcher, with all the injuries destroying their rotation. Aaron Boone’s Yankees need to add an arm or two with Gerrit Cole out for the season.

San Diego could add a controllable pitcher as it faces the possibility of losing Michael King and Dylan Cease in free agency.

All in all, it shouldn’t be surprising if Pittsburgh throws Keller on the trade block despite the fact he has multiple years left of team control.

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