With their pitching staff decimated by injuries, the New York Mets are actively exploring trade possibilities across the league, and Pittsburgh Pirates ace Mitch Keller has emerged as a possible target in what could be a major midseason move.
The Mets’ rotation has been hit hard, with Griffin Canning (60-day IL, Achilles rupture), Kodai Senga (15-day IL, hamstring strain), Paul Blackburn (15-day IL, shoulder impingement), and Sean Manaea (out all season with an oblique strain) all sidelined. As they continue their push for the NL East crown, bolstering the pitching corps is a growing priority.
Despite his 3-10 record in 2025, Keller has delivered a solid season for Pittsburgh. Over 18 starts, he’s posted a 3.64 ERA across 106.1 innings, racking up 84 strikeouts to 26 walks with a .245 opponent batting average and a 1.19 WHIP.
Keller has already faced the Mets twice this season. On May 13 at Citi Field, he pitched seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with eight strikeouts in a narrow 2-1 loss. In the rematch on June 27 at PNC Park, he went 5.1 innings in a 9-1 Pirates win—his first home victory since July 2024, and only his second win of the season.
In his latest outing, Keller shined in a 5-0 shutout of the Cardinals on July 2, tossing seven scoreless innings and striking out seven. That game also saw him become the all-time strikeout leader at PNC Park with 389, surpassing Paul Maholm’s previous record of 383.
Keller has recorded 12 quality starts this year, tying him for seventh most in MLB despite his poor win-loss mark. He is in the second year of a five-year, $77 million contract extension signed in February 2024, earning $15.4 million this season—making him the highest-paid player on the Pirates’ payroll.
While Pittsburgh is currently on a six-game win streak, they sit at 35-50, 14.5 games back in the NL Central and 12 games behind in the Wild Card race, ranking among the league’s bottom four. With the postseason looking unlikely, moving Keller could be part of a larger retooling strategy.
Given his strong performance and team-friendly contract, Keller could be one of the more sought-after arms at this year’s trade deadline—particularly for a pitching-hungry contender like the Mets.
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