Photo provided by Eddie Provident
The noise surrounding the possibility of the Pittsburgh Pirates trading starting pitcher Mitch Keller is loud.
Keller has been the subject of trade talks since the trade deadline and there’s a legitimate possibility the Pirates trade him this offseason.
Plenty of the teams around the league are looking to upgrade their starting rotation, so the Pirates are likely receiving plenty of interest in Keller as the offseason marches on.
ESPN recently came up with a a handful of trade ideas leading up to next week’s Winter Meetings, and one o f their proposals had the Pirates sending Keller to the San Francisco Giants. In return, David Schoenfield says the ask would be first base prospect Bryce Eldridge.
Eldridge is considered the Giants’ top prospect and the 12th-best prospect in baseball. The 21-year-old made his MLB debut with San Francisco this past season and appeared in 10 games. He went 3 for 28 with a pair of doubles and four RBI.
The bulk of his 2025 season was spent in the minor leagues, where he combined to slash .260/.333/.510 with 18 home runs and 63 RBI in 102 games — 66 in Triple-A, 34 in Double-A and two in the Arizona Complex League.
In three minor-league seasons, the 2023 16th overall pick owns a .279/.360/.512 batting line with 53 doubles, two triples, 54 home runs and 194 RBI in 249 games.
Although he’s dabbled in right field, Eldridge has spent the majority of his young professional career in first base. He possesses a strong arm but has a below-average glove and could serve as designated hitter with Spencer Horwitz at first base for the Pirates.
But it’s his left-handed thump that would appeal most to the Pirates. MLB Pipeline rates Eldridge’s power as 70-grade on the 20-80 scouting scale. For a team that’s desperate for more power and plays half their games at PNC Park, Eldridge is an intriguing target.
Despite being semi-blocked by Rafael Devers on the big-league roster, it’s tough to envision the Giants parting with Eldridge for Keller. But Ben Cherington wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t at least ask.
“The power is real — enough for the Pirates to gamble on and also real enough that he’ll be difficult to pry away from the Giants.” wrote Schoenfield.
Mentioned in this article: Mitch Keller Pittsburgh Pirates
More about: Pirates