The Chicago Cubs have yet to make a major move before the trade deadline on July 31. The deadline is rapidly approaching, and the Cubs have yet another need for a starting pitcher after Jameson Taillon was placed on the 15-day injured list for a calf injury.
Chicago needs another starter in the rotation, not only to keep from playing too many bullpen games like they did in Saturday’s 8-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, but to rest arms that have been asked to pitch in extra innings amid injuries to Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele.
Chicago Cubs: Price for Mitch Keller is going up
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Cubs feel more urgency to pull off a trade following Taillon’s injury. However, the price tag for their preferred starting pitcher, Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates, has gone up in recent weeks.
“The Cubs’ urgency to find another starter accelerated when they placed veteran Jameson Taillon on the injured list with a calf strain, sidelining him for at least a month,” Nightengale wrote. “They continue to pursue Pirates starter Mitch Keller, but his price tag is soaring with Keller yielding a 2.40 ERA in his last five starts, including seven scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.”
Keller has a 3-10 record this season and a 3.64 ERA with 84 strikeouts this season. He’s given up nine runs in 30 innings pitched in his last five starts.
The good news for the Cubs is that they’d be trading for a pitcher who is on a hot streak. The bad news is they might overpay for a player who might not be as hot in the postseason.
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2 Comments
He isn’t our preferred target. We were trying to pillage the Pirates before the deadline
Was near a few weeks ago because they were so far out of it. At the right price, not including one of our top prospects, than a deal for
Keller would be decent. For the back end of the rotation. Colin Rea career average player with aspirations to be Javier Assad by average.
With a handful of Ace’s most likely becoming available to us soon Keller would have been a great back end addition with potential for mid end. Not at a great price at all though. 16.5mil next year 18 the next and 20 after that.
There are about 14 starters coming available soon, many of them signed in arbitration still through 2028 for real cheap and already better than Keller. They may obtain one of our top prospects.
The Keller deal was to unload money from the Pirates with one or two players with potential that have many years of team control left for very cheap.
Nobody has offered the Pirates a top prospect yet. Otherwise they would have jumped all over it.
Is it possible at the deadline if certain teams miss out on the other players better than Keller on better deals? Sure maybe. All the more reason the Pirates are waiting.
If your article is about the price going up for Kellers services then shouldn’t you lay the ground work by informing us what the price tag was and where it currently stands?