The Pirates announced Thursday that they’ve placed right-hander Keone Kela and infielder Colin Moran on the injured list. Kela heads to the 10-day IL with forearm tightness, while Moran is on the 7-day concussion list. Both moves are retroactive to Aug. 24. Righty Nick Mears and infielder Will Craig were recalled in a pair of corresponding moves.
The IL placement for Kela substantially hampers the team’s ability to extract a meaningful return in a trade for the righty, who’d been the Pirates’ most obvious trade chip prior to Monday’s deadline. He can technically still be traded even while on the IL, but he won’t be eligible for activation until a few days after Monday’s trade deadline has passed. Considering that Kela is a free agent at season’s end, however, the Bucs could still try to move him for whatever they’re able to get.
Kela, 27, has been limited to just two innings in 2020 due to a positive Covid-19 test that caused him to miss all of Summer Camp and the forearm issue that prompted him to be lifted from last Friday’s relief outing. His fastball sat at 96.5 mph in his three outings this year — right in line with his career average — but that doesn’t guarantee the issue he’s facing to be minor. Kela has a strong track record dating back to his 2015 debut, but he’s obviously a wild card for the remainder of the year.
Moran himself could conceivably been a trade candidate on the heels of a huge start to the season. The former No. 6 overall pick is out to a .259/.326/.531 start with six homers and four doubles through 89 plate appearances. Moran’s 93.4 mph average exit velocity (per Statcast) is up more than five miles per hour from the 88.2 mph mark he logged in his first two years with Pittsburgh, and his 48.3 percent hard-hit rate absolutely dwarfs the 34.6 percent mark he posted in 2018-19. He’s controllable for three years beyond 2020, however, so a move involving him carries less urgency and wasn’t necessarily likely (as it was with Kela).
Kela is a sitcom.
Actually, the Pirates in general are.
Growing Pains?
I was thinking more reality tv. Jackass? Punk’d?
Alf.
This organization can’t get out of its own way. Afraid to make moves and when they do, they’re always bad ones. They’re a decade away from contention.
A decade? Little dramatic or do you really not know their roster and system? Which is it?
They’re a decade away from competing and the talent level is vastly inferior to many other NL teams. They’ve had FOUR winning seasons in the past 28 years. Need I say more?
You can’t possibly look ten years into the future with any kind of accuracy. They could make good moves and be competitive in a few years.
Well, that answers that: we all can see you know little about baseball “senior” editor. Might want to re-think that name with inane, baseless commentary on something you cannot predict.
4 in the last 8
A decade? They have the 6th best farm system in baseball per Fangraphs. I have faith that Ben Cherington, who was formerly the head of player development for the Red Sox during Big Papi’s rise, was there for most of Jon Lester’s development throughout the minors, and Jason Varitek’s development in the majors, and also the one who helped build most of the Red Sox’ world series winning cores in 2013, and 2018, and the Blue Jays current core, that he’ll be able to build a winner out of Keller, Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Tahnaj Thomas, Travis Swaggerty, Nick Gonzalez, Quinn Preister, Bryan Reynolds, Brennan Malone, Liover Peguero, whatever he gets at the deadline, and so on within the next 3-5 seasons.
Also, 4 winning seasons in the last 28 doesn’t mean the future isn’t bright. The Cubs didn’t have a World Series win in 108 years before 2016. Did that really impact their chances on winning it that year? No.
Ok. The Nationals/Expos never won a WS until last year. The Cubs went 108 years without a Ring, and the and the it took the Sox 86 years. Guess they had pretty much zero chance the years they won it, right?
Let’s reconvene in 3 years and see who’s right…., or 5, doesn’t matter.
No team is more than 4 years away from contending for playoffs. Extended playoffs are likely here to stay. Any team can sell off assets for prospects, stink for 3 years and get top draft picks and rebuild system. Pirates have half a dozen guys on track to be all stars not counting Hayes and Cruz who could be if they learn to hit. They will have top 5 picks if not the top pick the next 3 drafts. Have most the roster to sell off still. Kuhl Williams Brault bell Frazier Stallings musgrove can all bring back something decent at least. As well as the entire bull pen. 5 guys have closer potential and closers bring back prospects.
I’m not really worried about Cruz’s potential to hit. He’s hit at every level so far. Though he didn’t have much power at AA, he was coming off a wrist injury, and showed some improved plate discipline. Hayes, I’m a bit worried about. But he has a 92 averave exit velocity. He also had a higher groundball rate than usual in 2019, and was getting the ball up in the air more often in Spring Training based on what I saw.
Didn’t Shelton say yesterday that Kela was available to pitch? This organization is officially the worse in sports
Kela needs to be extracted and thrown in the garbage. Moran is having that ‘monster’.2 WAR season. Lol.
The IL is a lot better than Westmoreland County Prison, but still not a good place for your best trade chip.
So in a season when they are one of the worst teams in recent memory, they may not get the 1st pick anyway. And in a season when they are an obvious seller, everyone stinks. or is injured so they can’t even have a firesale. Bell, Frazier, Polanco? Terrible. Kela, Musgrove, Crick, Archer, Moran, injured.
Had the best trade chip/closer available in Vasquez? Goes to freakin’ prison.
Had the best pitcher in baseball in Cole? Couldn’t maximize his value and settled for trash.
Had two great prospects in Glasnow and Meadows? Couldn’t maximize their skills and settled for overrated Archer. Maximize Archer’s value? Nope. Out for the season.
Highly ranked prospect in Keller? Injured.
Decent young guys in Newman, Tucker, and Reynolds? All struggling.
Thought maybe baseball could give me a reprieve from the nonsense that is 2020? Oh. My. God. Not a chance.
Why wouldn’t they get the first pick?
I think I heard a while back that next years draft order is going to be a combination of last years record combined with this years record. Don’t quote me on that, but it seems to ring a bell to me.
I think 2019 W/L record is going to be used as a tie-breaker.
I don’t think Moran would have fetched anything of significance anyway. He’s not very good.
Yeah he is nothing. A average hitting dh vs rh pitching only. Had small value as a pinch hitter but universal dh killed that.
He’s pretty much only useful in pinch hitting situations. If you look at his splits, he’s good in those situations, and in clutch moments. He definitley isn’t an everyday player though.
Kela is once again untradeable, and evening if he wasn’t injured he wouldn’t command much of a return based on his head case status. PIT just needs to cut the cord on this guy after the season.
Oh I am pretty sure he won’t be back. He still might be traded, just won’t be a haul. Plan was to use him a few seasons then trade him for the same quality of prospects you gave up. Trade 2 lotto tickets you don’t like for 2 that you do like that someone else isn’t in love with. Can’t predict injuries. Headcase was a risk though.
Craig really just looks like a right handed Moran to me, but with a little bit more power, and a bit better of a fielder. Just a .250/.320/.420 hitter, 18-20 home runs, average defense at first.
Guy just needed someone to break through that final wall with him. Could be a better hitter. I watched the game today. Wasn’t a pirates fan but with so many articles on them I am now. I like BC so this is my team unless he loses my trust. I liked NH as well but the Archer trade rightfully cost him his job.
The Pirates are a new owner away from contention.
and then they go out and sweep a doubleheader?
Another season, another closer not traded.
every time I see the name keone kela, i think of kalua or baileys irish cream