Yankees Trade for Pitcher With Unsightly Record ‘Makes a Ton of Sense’

This just in: the New York Yankees need pitching. 

That’s not really a “hot off the presses” type of news break, as it has basically been the case every summer since Aaron Boone became the team’s manager. However, in 2025, it’s a particularly urgent situation. 

Gerrit Cole was lost for the season after Tommy John surgery. Luis Gil has also been out since spring training with a high-grade lat strain, and the best-case scenario has him not returning until after the All-Star break. Marcus Stroman has also been on the injured list with a knee issue and may be a roster casualty once he’s deemed healthy. 

Meanwhile, Clarke Schmidt has been trending in the wrong direction, Will Warren has experienced the typical ups and downs of an MLB rookie. It’s a surprisingly nerve-wracking situation in the starting rotation for a team that has the second-best record in the American League and a 5.5-game lead in the AL East, a situation the Yankees will certainly address to bolster their lofty playoff aspirations. 

So what if the answer is a 1-8 pitcher? 

Pirates Starter Mitch Keller’s Stuff Belies His 1-8 Record

Mitch Keller’s record with the Pirates this season is a straight-up disaster. One win. Eight losses. But don’t be fooled, the guy can pitch. 

The 29-year-old right-hander has a 4.13 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in his 13 starts, with 61 strikeouts in 76.1 innings, but his 3.28 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) suggests he’s had more bad luck than bad outings. And his underlying stuff has Ryan Garcia from the Empire Sports Media “Fireside Yankees” podcast touting Keller as a pitcher who “makes a ton of sense” for the Yankees. 

“The Yankees are very good at pitching development,” Garcia said. “I think the Yankees do a very good job with getting the most out of pitchers. I think Mitch Keller is someone they can get more out of.” 

Although Garcia stressed that with the stuff Keller has, he has done a pretty good job of getting the most out of himself already. Nine of his 13 outings this season have qualified as quality starts, including his last five straight. Garcia credited Keller’s recent surge with an increased use of his sinker, which averages 93 mph. 

“Through his first seven starts, he used his sinker just 10.4% of the time and he had a 4.31 ERA with a 40.2% ground ball rate. But over his last five starts, he’s using his sinker 22.8% of the time and he has a 2.90 ERA, a 2.43 FIP and a 48.3% ground ball rate,” Garcia said. “Mitch Keller is someone who I think fits the Yankee mold very well. He has multiple fastballs, he has a really good sweeper, he has a gyro slider he throws, as well as a curveball, and he has a changeup that could use some work.” 

Mitch Keller-for-Cam Schlittler Swap Could Provide Stability for Yankees Rotation

There’s another angle that Garcia said makes Keller an ideal target for the Yankees: his contract.  

Keller, who made his MLB debut with the Pirates in 2019, signed a five-year, $77 million extension with Pittsburgh prior to the 2024 season, which keeps him under team control through 2028. So the Yankees would not just be renting him, they’d get three additional seasons of a potential mid-rotation horse. 

And here’s the kicker: because Keller’s record is so ugly, and because of that long-term deal, there may not be a big market for him at the deadline. Most teams would likely balk at taking on a struggling pitcher with a multi-year commitment. That’s where the Yankees could swoop in. 

“For the Yankees, who have a lot of money – maybe not a lot of money to spend this year, but a lot of money opening up over the next three years – this contract shouldn’t be a poison pill, it shouldn’t kill them,” Garcia said. “And Keller might be someone they could flip again (in a future trade). I mean, they could do a lot of things with this contract and with this player, and it gives them some stability in this rotation moving forward.” 

All of which suggests that the Yankees would not have to give up too much to acquire Keller. A recent Bleacher Report analysis identified right-handed pitching prospect Cam Schlittler as the player most likely to be traded by the Yankees this season, and a one-for-one swap could make sense for both teams. 

Schlittler, 24, was called up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre early this week after going 4-5 with a 2.38 ERA at Double-A Somerset. A 6-foot-6, 225-pound right-hander, Schlittler is the Yankees’ No. 10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, but he’s their seventh-best pitching prospect, potentially making him an expendable piece. And being a low-cost, near-MLB-ready arm who could slot into the rotation by September makes him an attractive get for the Pirates. 

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