The Pirates have officially landed righty Keone Kela from the Rangers, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Lefty Taylor Hearn is one of the players in the deal, the Rangers announced. The other remains a player to be named later.
Kela, 25, has turned in a solid season to this point while functioning as the closer in Texas. He’ll presumably slot into a setup role in Pittsburgh in front of Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez.
The move reflects the Bucs’ surprising surge in the standings of late. While the club is still seven back in a tough NL Central division, it’s only four out of the Wild Card race and certainly could end up in postseason position. Of course, this isn’t a purely win-now move by any stretch. Kela, who is earning just $1.2MM this year, will be controllable via arbitration through 2020.
All told, Kela will wrap up his time in Texas with 169 2/3 innings of 3.45 ERA pitching. That’s right where his ERA sits this year, too, though estimators are a bit more bullish on his efforts (2.97 FIP/3.57 xFIP/3.22 SIERA) than the results would indicate. Kela is averaging 10.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 while throwing his fastball at a career-high average velocity of 97.5 mph.
While he has been on an upswing of late, there have been some low points as well. On the heels of a rough 2016 season, Kela found himself in the Rangers’ doghouse after some Spring Training shenanigans. He has also dealt with some problems in his elbow and shoulder, though to this point no major problems have arisen.
The Rangers may have seen this as the right time to cash in Kela, though surely he’d have remained an asset at the back of their bullpen. Given the organization’s need to build a new core, and the abundance of talent elsewhere in the division, it certainly makes sense to move relievers — even established but still-controllable ones.
This swap will bring some real value. Hearn came to Pittsburgh along with Vazquez in the same deadline swap two years ago. He’s widely considered an intriguing hurler, albeit one who’ll have to make some strides to factor as a starter at the game’s highest level.
Whether or not Hearn can tap into his ceiling, he seems likely to be a big-league contributor and there’s good reason to think he’ll at least become a high-quality reliever. Soon to turn 24, Hearn has mowed through the Double-A competition since a slow start to the present campaign. Overall, he owns a 3.12 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 on the year. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked him seventh among Pirates farmhands in their midseason re-ranking of the organization, lauding his 97-98 mph heater and above-average changeup while also noting the need to improve his slider and the control of his entire repertoire.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
That’s going to cost a pretty penny to still not be a playoff team..
Even if they don’t make it this season, which is no guarantee, he is a long term piece as well.
Yep! He’s not a rental. I like it for the Bucs and their fans. Kudos to the front office for rewarding the fans and the team for the way they’ve been playing.
This after the fans were so kind and understanding with then this offseason, haha
That was funny!!!!
bucs made a move!….
Wow
I bet Taylor hearn is in the trade
My money is on one of the two middle infield Kevins, Newman or Kramer.
Pirates can’t break up the Seinfeld double play combo.
Kudos
Please let it be good pitching prospects
I was hoping jason martin too
if there are runners on base or its not a pure save situation this kid is terrible
The Pirates don’t need him to be a closer, Vazquez has them covered long term, but Kela is a huge upgrade over pretty much every other leverage reliever short of Crick and Santana, like journymen Richard Rodriguez and Tyler Glasnow.
that’s the problem, he sucks UNLESS it’s a save situation
That’s absolute NONSENSE If he can pitch, he can pitch, to say ‘uuuuugh uuuuuh he’s good in a save situation, other, uuuuggggh, He’s not good’ you sound ridiculous, and the stuttering doesn’t help either. Wise up.
Lol i think the voices in your head are all that’s stuttering
That’s the thing–he’s not demonstrably better than Crick or Santana. He’s a fine pitcher, and the cost to get him doesn’t seem too steep, but he’s a bit redundant.
How the mighty have fallen. – Tyler Glasnow a journeyman?
Exactly what I was thinking. Young kid had a brief stint as a starter. Not a journeyman. Still has a high ceiling.
How is Tyler Glasnow a journeyman?
Then don’t use him in a non-save situation.
Probably the usual John Daniels fleecing.
Not the right decision by Pittsburgh
I’m with you here. Been a Bucs fan for years and I still don’t believe in their faux hot start nor the recent hot streak. Not a fan of Kela on any level and believe that this ultimately blows up in the Bucs’ face, with Hearns going on to do much better things than Kela will do in Pittsburgh. The Farm System is weak as is and it just got worse.
Agree. People are talking about the two more years of control over Kelantan but Hearn has six more years of control, why not just use him out of the pen. I guess unless they think he stinks but presumably they don’t.
Kela is controlled through 2022 and is a proven closer. While I like Hearn as a prospect very much, he is still just that. This is a great move for the Pirates.
Kela is controllable through 2020. He has two more arbitration eligible years before becoming a free agent in the winter of 2020
2018 Contract Status: Signed thru 2018, 1 yr/$1.2M (18)
Service Time (01/2018): 3.000 • Arb Eligible: 2019 • Free Agent: 2022
Agents: Wasserman Media Group
Full Name: Keone Cole Kela
You must know something that Baseball Reference does not…?
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/keone-kela-16627/
Also, this exact article, the one you commented on, says he’s arbitration eligible through 2020.
Pirates make a bold statement. He’s allowed 1 ER each of his last 2 appearances in 2.2 IP. If price favors Pit AT ALL, guessing it has more to do with his recent struggles, despite the 2 years team control after this one.
2.2 innings wouldn’t change the price.
going from one non playoff team to another. dumb move Pittsburgh
He’s controlled for 3 years after this you dummy.3 years. 19′ 20′ and 21′ helps this years and 3 years after, what sense do you make??
Brewers fans have been out of their backwoods 4-wheeler storage mud-shacks for a year now. They’re not too sure how to talk baseball but feel the need to when they recognize a name that lines up with their team in the standings. Just skip their comments altogether.
Yes, and your comment just oozes with intelligence.
Hmm
The brewers have been right there since the price fielder says
I’m not a brewers fan but if anything that’s would have to be the cubs bandwagon
The strongest team in the nlc dating back to the astros days was the cards
5 game sweep. 5 game SWEEP. 5 GAME SWEEP.
You Crew fans seem to be overly opinionated about a move that you say hurts the Bucs. If you’re so sure of that you should be happy. Hmmm.
What are the odds Glasnow is in this deal? I would think they are low, but still…
Very low*
Not a chance
none, not sure why you would even want Glasnow. He can’t throw strikes.
Just couldn’t have been in the deal…
Seems odd for a team barely in the playoff pitcher as an over achiever.
How many accounts do you have? And it’s picture.
hearn and glasnow and I would be a happy rangers fan lol
Better be something like that or I’m gonna start turning on JD.
Hearn probably the headliner… absolute zero chance on Glasnow
Just two prospects in return. Could be a case of quality over quantity.
Hopefully JD got some talent back. Kela is 24/25 in save opportunities and under control through 2020.
Heyman says 2 prospects going back. Not sure who
come on Oneil Cruz be one of them…
Austin Meadows is in the deal it sounds like
Ouch. I hope not. For a reliever? Yikes
Where did you hear that? Doubtful.
the pirates are going to trade Riviero and keep Vasquez
If Meadows is in the deal the Pirates GM should be fired on the spot
I’m going to guess Shane Baz and Calvin Mitchell.
Going back to Texas
Baz isn’t going for a reliever. Neither is Glasnow… I still am surprised to see these posts…
I mean, he is only a year older than Glasnow, and he’s a much more reliable reliever at this point (seeing as Glasnow still can’t find the strike zone). I don’t think it’d be THAT big of a stretch for him to be the main piece going back. I don’t think he’ll be in the deal, but I wouldn’t be completely shocked.
You sure?
Sounds like meadows is the headline of the deal
Really? Wowza! Can’t wait to hear the uproar if it indeed is.
Great trade for Texas….They need to stock their farm with Arms…id be Happy with Hearn, Baz or Glasnow.
This is just a snapshot of the post-Golden era Phillies.
2012, they trade Hunter Pence and Victorino for prospects
In the next few years- sign Marlon Byrd, AJ Burnett etc.
If you start a rebuild, go through with it. They had the chance to do it quickly but looking at where theyre at mentally they won’t be good again for a while.
Just read that the Buccos gave up Jhi Wan Bae and K. Hayes
Really another 3B type prospect? I feel like they have enough of those kind of guys. I would have figured Calvin Mitchell would have been more of an organizational fit.
I saw that too but realized it was a fake Ken Rosenthal Twitter account that posted that.
For 2 players to be named later ? Are you serious
They know who they are, just waiting on getting word to the players. It’s almost 2am on the East Coast
Plus PTBNL’s aren’t bad, it could just mean that Texas isn’t sure of who they want yet, so they’ll pick someone from a list. It could be a list of their 10-15 ranked prospects, who knows.
2 PTBNLs? That’s an odd thing to do for a deadline trade.
Weird.
And the plot thickens for Rangers fans
Swaggerty has to be included
he cant be
Charlie… why do you keep making stupid posts?
He’s just throwing anything out there so if one of the players he mentions is actually in the deal he can claim he was right…
He won’t be eligible until December. As nearly impossible as it is to guess from large prospect lists who will be included, it shouldn’t be a surprise how improbable Swaggerty will be as PTBN – regardless of eligibility.
are PTBNL always low tier prospects or could they just be discussing which top prospects from a list? if they are low tier prospects then how was that the best offer for Kela?
a PTBNL can be anyone. Trea Turner, when he was a top prospect, was a PTNBL.
Trea Turner (by that I mean a Trea Turner-like player) couldn’t be a PTBNL now. He was a draft pick that year and 2018 draft picks cannot be PTBNLs anymore. At least not until after the WS.
Already determined. Too late tonight to let traded players know
They should fly John Daniels out to Pittsburgh and have him standing right over him saying “Wakey wakey! Welcome to the Rangers rotation!” right as he wakes up but on second thought I’d rather wake up during surgery
2 players to be named later. Meaning it’s not Meadows or any of the headliners.
Did see word Luplow is involved potentially.
It doesn’t mean that at all. The only people that it CAN’T be are 2018 draftees. It can be literally anyone else in the organization.
Actually 2018 draft picks are eligible. That rule changed after Turner a few years back.
You got that backwards man. They were eligible before Turner because Turner was one. They changed it to they couldn’t be PTBNL afterwards, but they shortened the time they had to remain in the org after being drafted as a compromise. You used to not be able to trade a draftee until 1 year after they were drafted, but they could be a PTBNL. Now you can trade them starting one day after the World Series, but they cannot be a PTBNL.
From Rosenthal.
The #Rangers know who they are getting from the #Pirates for Kela. The delay in naming the players is due to the difficulty of contacting them at this late hour, sources say.
The Rangers know who they are getting? Does this suprise you?
If they’re not up playing Fortnite then why would you even want them
2 AM is the cutoff though. If you stay up later than that you’re crazy.
This makes me think it isn’t anyone on the MLB roster. They obviously would easily be able to contact them since they are in Pittsburgh.
why can’t it be the headliners
So it’s past their bedtime? How considerate of MLB.
Haha
Well, I think it is respectable to not let the internet tell a guy he is being moved.
JD just said one player who should be announced tomorrow and a PTBNL.
The one player has to be a top guy for that kind of return.
lets hope so, it better be meadows or someone in there top 5 prospects
I doubt meadows…not considered a prospect anymore. I would have to think it’s a top 5 prospect.
Turns out their #7 prospect. It will be interesting to see who the PTBNL will be. Should be a couple of weeks. Good move Pittsburgh. You guys got a heck of a reliever for a couple more years
This is kind of cool. A Christmas present like trade where we get to find out what’s in the box tomorrow.
Moroff and Baz are headed to Texas……
I heard Mercer and Feliz
I heard it’s Lastings Milledge
I have decided to tell myself the prospect that will be named is Oneil Cruz… because he’s the only prospects on the East Coast young enough to have a bedtime.
so hearn and i bet the other one is Cruz or baz they want to decide between them two
Hearn is confirmed as one piece.
Taylor Hearn ? what are the rangers doing. second prospect has to be headliner. not newman
I never said Hearn should be off limits in a deal like Keller, Meadows, etc. but I really didn’t want to trade him. He’s a lefty who throws 100 mph and he’s still in the rotation in AA.
So, he could stick as a SP. If not, he could be an elite RP. If not, he could still be a middle of the bullpen guys.
So, a 100 mph lefty who has a really high ceiling but also a reasonably high floor…he’s a good prospect.
Admittedly, I would have thought that Kela would cost more than two good prospects.
it’s going to baz or Cruz, If not then jon Daniel’s needs to go
Kela and Vazquez for Melancon who never pitches anymore…solid
The Pirates normally suck in the trade department. I don’t even know if this trade is going to work out. I really liked Hearn as a prospect, and thought he could be going somewhere. But even if we lose this trade, we robbed the Nationals in that trade, and it wasn’t even fair. Kela and Vazquez for Melancon is a win in my book. As long as Oneil Cruz isn’t the other prospect, I can rest happy
Please let the second piece be Oneil Cruz.
amen brother
That is a Texas sized shortstop
in all truth he’s probably going to be a third baseman but we don’t have any depth at that position in the organization so I’m good with that
Could be Cruz since Bucs are deep middle infield bc of Newman and Kramer
Rangers wouldn’t take middle infield these days, they are deep there. I bet its Holmes as the other PTBNL. Not a bad return for a bullpen guy honestly.
they don’t have any Third Base prospects and that’s what Cruz will end up being
Nah if Beltre retires then Profar takes over at third full time, or kiner-felefa i guess but he doesn’t have the pop.
Wouldn’t mind 2nd piece being Mitch Keller. Any way?
Of course you wouldn’t mind lol…..absolutely no way. Hearn is probably the headliner of the deal, Rangers fans are just crossing fingers that there is a bigger name involved but no chance.
No chance. He is a big piece for the future rotation. Potentially a number one.
Thanks. just skimming thru their page. appreciate it.
And maybe Hearn was misspelled and actually was supposed to be Hays and Swaggerty while you’re at it.
Come on, think rationally. Keller is the Pirates top prospect, a concensus top 20 prospect in all of baseball and a top 10 pitching prospect to boot. You think the kind of player that draws that kind of top notch talent is going to be a relief pitcher?
its official pet Rosenthal….. Clemente and Stargell are going to Texas…
Diekman on block too. Rangers have to tear down w Houston looking good for years to come. Wonder what happens to hof Beltre just not this yr but next
Taylor Hearn has been draft by 4 teams and now with his 3rd organization? That’s impressive.
Dear braves, u could have offered a better deal and not angered braves fans. Get off you butt
We could have easily outbid, so there has to be more to the story
Wow. Weird…
Dejan Kovacevic has brainwashed the “fans” here into mindlessly parroting the phrase “Huntingdon never makes any good trades” for the past few years. He and Madden still bash the Pirates for trading Mark Melancon back in 2016 to this day.
Well, with the benefit of hindsight we can now evaluate…
Melancon for Felipe Vazquez and Taylor Hearn, whom he has now turned (with a PTBNL) into Keone Kela.
So…Melancon for Vazquez and Kela. Uh, yeah. Seem pretty good, but…
I look forward to reading how Neil is still a moron who doesn’t know what he’s doing and that the team’s tanking failed and they still doesn’t want to win.
Yeah, that trade looked tremendous then and looks even better now. Say what you want about NH but he sure knows how to flip closers.
I’d also call the Travis Snider to the O’s for Tarpley who turned Tarpley and Tito into Nova. I’d call the AJ burnett trade pure gold for the pirates.. really most trades are decent for the pirates.
a couple real bummers (Walker/Niese for example) really make it look worse than it is though.
One thing I’ve always said about Huntington is that, for better or for worse, he has a plan and he sticks to it. Some of what they do doesn’t always seem to make a whole lot of sense at the time, but enough of it seems to really work out in the end that people should maybe stop being so quick to grab the pitchforks and torches.
Whats the point of having pitchforks and torches if you never use them?
You can pull them out once in awhile, but not as often I guess.
We’re not pulling out the pitchforks over Huntington, but over our owner, Bob Nutting. With a little money in his pocket, I’m sure Huntington could work wonders, but Nutting has yet to shell out anything worthwhile for this team. We’ve had a bottom ten payroll for what seems like forever now, even when we were a top 10 team. If we could just pay a little for a top tier guy on the market, maybe we’d get somewhere
They still bash the Cole trade even though they got the 3b that was lacking, a solid starter, a RP with a ton of upside and a now AAA outfielder that looks like the real deal. Not so much bashing the McCutchen deal now because they received a legit late inning reliever and another OF who looks like the real deal too. Having 6 top OF will give the Pirates a position to deal from in the next couple of years. To me, they are finally becoming the working model of the Cardinals and as long as they keep stocking the minors, they can operate like the Cards.
“Great” move. Perfect timing for their next run of losing 10 of their next 13.
They should be selling, but that would make too much sense. That last fluke run really got the juices going I guess. Lol.
Have fun trying to catch the Cubs for the next decade plus. They’ll definitely need it.
The Cubs don’t have another decade. As soon as Rizzo and Bryant hit their 30s, the Pirates or Reds will have passed them up. They might even be defeated by the Brewers this year. The Cubs have already hit their peak. They’re on the decline, and someone else, be it the Pirates or someone else, is about to take the NL Central
Only a couple of guys that they would sell right now. Have control over Bell, Harrison, Moran, Dickerson, Marte,, Polanco, Diaz, Taillon, Williams, Musgrove, Kingham, Kuhl, Vasquez, Crick, Rodriguez the pitcher, Santana, among others. Yes, if a good trade that made sense for this year and beyond, I could see trading Freese, Harrison, or any other player that would make the trade better immediately after the trade. You listen to and read the local Pittsburgh media members way too much.
Obviously don’t know the PTBNL yet but I think this is a solid trade for both sides. As a Pirates fan it hurts to see Hearn leave as there isn’t a lefty starting prospect in our system with better pure stuff than his, though when the Kela to Pirates rumors started a few days ago it pretty much made sense that Hearn or someone near his prospect value would be in the right range to headline the deal.
Rangers fans, you’ll like Hearn’s heater and wipeout slider but his changeup could use a bit more polish and adding a quality fourth pitch would make him downright nasty. Already has a decent amount of innings in AA so he could potentially be a mid-season callup next year. He strikes out a lot of batters and his control has been getting better too. As far as speculation on the ptbnl I’d guess its probably a lower level pitcher with upside like Travis MacGregor, Steven Jennings, or Cody Bolton.
If hearn wouldn’t have missed time due to injury he’d probably be near a top 10 lhp. His stock has been rising at a pretty quick rate when healthy, He may end up in the pen but if he figures out that slider he should be an effective starter. IMO I’d rather have Hearn in the MLB but thats still at least a year away.
because of that, i don’t see any of the pirates top 5’s going back to Texas. maybe one of the ‘extra’ top 10 middle infileders or someone like Glasnow who needs another look from fresh eyes.
This isn’t just a now move tho. Kela is what 23-24? It helps them in the future. With kela and Vazquez in the back end that’s pretty nasty plus righty lefty and both can close. So u can mix and match situations
They took a step forward for next year
It’s going to be fun when Pittsburgh finishes ahead of Milwaukee.
I didn’t think that the Bucs could manage to make a move that somehow straddled the line between being a buyer and a seller, but they pretty much did it. Kela is a good addition for now and for following years. If they later decide that Kela can close, they can shop Vazquez and demand a hefty return, and if no one meets it so be it. Hearn is a good prospect but not a Top 5 in the organization. pending the naming of the 2nd prospect (I fully expect that Hearn will be the bigger name of the 2), nice move for the Bucs.
Bullpen has been strong so no need for a closer or set up man. The only reason for this trade is that this allows them to dump salary in the off season, bye bye Vazquez.. All moves relate to profits and if this guy can close at a cheaper price then their plan will work.
Why would they trade Vazquez? He is signed for 3 more years plus 2 option years and for a top end closer he is cheap. They only salary that they really dumped lately has been Liriano and he was not anywhere close to earning what he was getting when they dumped him. He has stunk pretty much since he left Pittsburgh. Walker was gone after the season when they traded him. Cutch was gone after this year. Cole was gone after next. 2 quality trades made this last off season and considering Walker’s injuries, was a push on 2 players that got hurt. Niese would have been ok had he not hurt his knee early in the year with Pittsburgh. He was at least average in his prior seasons.
I hope you are right but $4.5 million next year could be too high for Nutting and company when they could save half that money.
Would have rather sent Baz instead of Hearn (similar if not more value, and Hearn is a lefty in a system that really lacks them), but otherwise I love the move as a Pirates fan.
Could the PTBNL be contingent on whether the Pirates get a deal done for Archer? Maybe they have a choice of players but that could change if said player goes to Tampa? Then they have another to choose from?