On a day that should've been about celebrating a successful trade deadline, brutal injury news quickly overshadowed the Pittsburgh Pirates' excitement.
Right after the deadline passed, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that starting pitcher Mitch Keller is being placed on the 60-day injured list. The former All-Star suffered a right teres major muscle injury, ending his season.
Keller, 30, has been a staple in the Pirates' rotation for eight seasons, but this year has been one of his toughest. The right-hander went 6-8 with a 5.29 ERA across 115.2 innings with a 4.54 FIP.
Losing Keller is a mighty blow to a Pirates rotation that was supposed to carry the team this season. Making matters worse, ace and reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes hasn't looked like himself since Opening Day.
Skenes is 9-9 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over 124.2 innings, with his velocity noticeably down. With the playoff race entering the stretch run and Keller now out for the year, the Pirates need Skenes more than ever to find his form.
Who fills the open spot in the rotation remains a major question. In his post-deadline comments, Ben Cherington admitted he didn't know who would step in.
The injury itself, however, didn't catch him by surprise. Cherington knew about the situation before the deadline and acknowledged that it affected how the Pirates went about their day.
Cherington did add four pitchers at the deadline, giving the bullpen some much-needed reinforcements. Pittsburgh landed arguably the best reliever on the market in Luke Weaver from the New York Mets, while also adding Camilo Doval, Kirby Yates and Lake Bachar.
The Pirates enter play Monday 3.5 games back in the Wild Card standings, with the San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins also ahead of them. Pittsburgh has battled through plenty of ups and downs this season, but the final two months will demand their best baseball yet.
It won't be an easy task, either. The Pirates own the ninth-hardest remaining schedule in baseball.
They'll get an immediate taste of that challenge tonight when they begin a four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
