Derek Shelton Expects Pirates To Keep Aroldis Chapman

Pirates manager Derek Shelton made his weekly radio appearance on 93.7 FM the Fan in Pittsburgh this morning. The Bucs skipper said he “expects” the team will hang onto Aroldis Chapman beyond this evening’s trade deadline (relayed on X by The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi).

Chapman is playing on a $10.5MM contract. Shelton has called upon him 45 times, usually in high-leverage spots. The hard-throwing lefty carries a 3.63 ERA over 39 2/3 innings. He’s running his typical blend of huge strikeout totals (35.2%) and massive walk rates (19.3%). Chapman isn’t sitting above 100 MPH the way he did at his peak, but his 97.6 MPH average fastball velocity still makes him one of the hardest throwing southpaws in the sport.

The Bucs go into deadline day with a 54-52 record that has them within two games of the National League’s last Wild Card spot. They’re more likely to add MLB talent than subtract, but there’s also been some talk that Pittsburgh could contemplate dealing from its big league pitching staff to acquire offensive help. They made a variation of that move with yesterday’s swap of Quinn Priester for second base prospect Nick Yorke, even if Yorke won’t immediately step onto the MLB roster.

Pittsburgh has looked to bolster their lefty relief depth behind Chapman. They acquired Jalen Beeks from the Rockies last night and are bringing in Josh Walker in a DFA trade with the Mets. Walker still has options and can be stashed at Triple-A Indianapolis.