DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: Why to keep Mitch Keller

DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: Why to keep Mitch Keller

[Music] [Applause] It’s funny, but it’s almost as if Mitch Keller didn’t want to be traded or David Bednar didn’t want to be traded. Good morning to you. Good Tuesday morning. I’m Dan Kawaj of DK Pittsburgh Sports. This is Daily Shot of Pirates. It comes your way bright and early every weekday if you’re into football andor hockey. I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Penguins in the same place that you found this Pirates 6, Giants five last night in San Francisco. Andrew McCutchen winning the game with a two-run homer in the seventh. Bedar kind of holding on to the lead in the ninth, giving up his first run in like two months in the ninth, but he’d get the job done for his 17th save in a row. And rewinding back to the beginning, man, nothing nothing was working for Mitch. A twoinninging start, his shortest in three years, three runs, five hits, three walks. He did strike three guys out, but a 73 pitch count through two innings. I’m sorry, you’re not going to see a third inning after that kind of labor. Now, he is anything but the type to use something intangible as an excuse for a performance. And to his credit, he didn’t afterward when speaking with reporters in San Francisco, including our own Jose Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports. Uh, no, not at all. Honestly, I mean, if I just go out there trying to beat the Giants and throw as many strikes and get as many outs as I possibly again, there’s nothing I can do about anything. So, but yeah, his name is coming up about as often as that of any starting pitcher across the majors in advance of the Thursday trade deadline. And that’s only going to heighten between now and then. Now, for better or worse, he’s not going to pitch again between now and then. And really, given how well he’s pitched now for a couple of years, I’m not inclined to say, “Gee, Mitch, you know, how come you didn’t tough this one out?” These guys are human. It affects them. Keller does not want to be traded. Bedar does not want to be traded. Isaiah Kinder Falefa who’s going to come up quite a bit as well does not want to be traded. I don’t have a gauge like that for Tommy fam. So I’m not going to state it in one direction or the other. Don’t read anything into it. I just don’t know. But these are the four names that are most likely to continue arising. And all I have to say to that to all of that is what I’ve been saying all along. Go ahead. you’re Ben Cherington and you’re still somehow on the job and trade your rentals, trade your one-year guys, it won’t be super easy to replace IKF, but it feels like they’ve already done that in a sense by getting that no-name 28-year-old prospect guy whose name I’ve already forgotten who’s in Indianapolis. He came in the Adam Frasier trade. He’d probably be the shortstop in Ker Fa’s absence at least for the remainder of the season. Nobody’s really going to care. The same, I’m sure, applies to Fam. He’s hit really well lately. I mean, really, really well. Talk about a guy who turned his season around. But here I go again. Keller Bedar, main players, important players, hands off. Not because they can’t ever be traded or they’re untouchable or anything like that, but because this general manager can’t execute this kind of trade, meaning the one that involves a hitter. And if it isn’t a hitter or multiple hitters that’s coming back, then there’s no sense in making any trade. Now, I’m going to tell you that I’ve gotten more of a sense about Bedar being moved than I have about Keller. That’s fairly new on my end and from my own sources. But I don’t see that as acceptable either. Not by this GM. He has done nothing to deserve being able to make a move of this magnitude. You know, it’s funny. You could, depending on how you choose to cut up the perspectives here, you could look at Cherington’s history with the draft, especially now that Connor Griffin has just erupted and soared all the way to number one on both of the main rankings of prospects. You could say, “Hey, these drafts maybe weren’t as bad as we thought. He’s not so bad at this.” But the category in which he’s dead in the water, in addition to draft depth, incidentally, and in addition to Latin American international talent, almost none of which has been procured in his tenure. It It’s the trades. It’s the trades that are a killer. I mean, the free agency stuff is pretty bad, too, but the trades are the rock bottom of what he’s done. And here we all are on the 29th of July, two days in advance of the deadline, wondering what this guy’s going to do with a trade. You know what they tell you about, you know, not betting against streaks, right? It’s insane to me that this is being allowed to happen when we come back. J1Q. [Music] If you’re looking for a great dining experience, look no further than Northshore Tavern. Located directly across Federal Street from PNC Park, next door to Mike’s Beer Bar, Northshore Tavern is Pittsburgh’s home for steak on a stone. Enjoy your steak finished on a hot lava stone in front of you, where you ensure each piece is cooked to exactly your liking. or try their rotating selection of entre, hot sandwiches, salads, and burgers, all while enjoying the ambiance dedicated to the great players and history of the Pittsburgh Pirates all around you. Come see why everyone’s talking about Northshore Tavern and Steak on a Stone. It’s Gun Storage Check Week. Help prevent unwanted access to your firearms. No one wants their unsecured gun to be used in an accident, a suicide, or a crime. Use lock boxes, safes, and locks to secure your firearms. Learn more at gunstoch checkck.org. That’s gunstoch check.org. Brought to you by NSSF, the firearm industry trade association. [Music] Today’s J1Q comes from Wilbur, who really brings it appropriately so in response to my multiple references on yesterday’s show, agreeing with Paul Ske’s statement to me that the Pirates are not that far away. Wilbur writes, “Here’s the Pirates rank within Major League Baseball position by position in WRC Plus, which is as good a single measure of hitting as any. Catcher 26th, first base 28th, second base 22nd, third base 30th, shortstop 26th, left field 29th, center field 17th, right field 28th. Designated hitter 22nd. This team, Wilbur continues, is not one or two bats away. It’s one or two lineups away. Useful free agents are a pointless fantasy with this owner and the farm system has no help coming for at least two to three years. So how do you fix this fiasco without trading worthwhile players assuming you have a marginally competent GM which the Pirates don’t? Trading Tommy Fam and Isaiah Kinder Falefa will do exactly nothing about this. So, what’s the alternative beyond the Ben Harington status quo? My friend, I know when I’ve been checkmated, okay, you don’t have to rub it in. You had me right after either catcher or first base. The figure that I get fixated on is the record when the team scores four runs, which by the way now is 29 and 14. Just four runs. 29 and 14. So, the closest I’ll come to any kind of counterargument to what you put together there is that the bar for the Pirates to be successful offensively will naturally be lower than it is for other teams because they’re not going to give up many runs. But look, I I I’m not an idiot either. I see the same players that you do. I see the same numbers that you do. And my point all along has been find a way to get to those four runs. But yeah, that’s why we have the J1Q segment to make sure you keep me honest. I appreciate you. I appreciate everybody who listens to Daily Shot of Pirates. We’re going to be back with another one of these tomorrow. [Music]

Why to not trade Mitch Keller (aside from not having a GM).

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