The St. Louis Cardinals kicked off their rebuild on Tuesday morning when they traded right-hander Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox. They went 78-84 during the regular season and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
However, despite selling Gray to Boston, the Cardinals haven’t closed the door on making other additions to their roster as long as they serve the team’s long-term goals.
Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported on Monday that the Pittsburgh Pirates were showing interest in several of the Cardinals left-handed bats. Mitch Keller’s is Pittsburgh’s obvious trade candidate, but St. Louis should avoid him at all costs.
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Cardinals Must Avoid Pirates Former All-Star
Sep 26, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller (23) pitches the ball against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
While Keller has several years of club control remaining and isn’t a free agent until 2029, he just isn’t what the Cardinals are looking for. While they do hope to trade Brendan Donovan and clear out their logjam of left-handed bats, they need younger starting pitchers if they’re going to add them via trade.
In the trade with the Red Sox, St. Louis acquired pitchers Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts, both of whom have years of club control left and are younger arms.
Keller, 29, went 6-15 with a 4.19 ERA this past season with the Pirates. He made 32 starts and pitched 176 ⅓ innings. But he just isn’t what the Cardinals need.
As part of their rebuild, they need to be targeting younger players instead of veterans. Keller has been around for several years and is now an established veteran.
The Pirates are also not a contender, and the Cardinals should be focusing on getting the best available young talent from contenders. They did well in the deal with the Red Sox, but more of that is what is required at the present moment.
Adding Keller would be a move a team would make if they are trying to contend, and the Cardinals are taking a step back from that for a few years. If they’re going to add an established piece, the best place to do that is in free agency, where affordable options such as Walker Buehler, Dustin May and Chris Bassitt are available.
It will be interesting to see what comes next for the Cardinals and if they’ll ultimately send one of their lefty bats to Pittsburgh, but it ultimately wouldn’t be the right call to go after Keller.
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