Blue Jays could use this trade package to land their dream starting pitcher

The Toronto Blue Jays desperately need to acquire another arm at the MLB Trade Deadline. One arm that has had a lot of buzz around his name this year has been Pittsburgh Pirates right hander Mitch Keller. Although the Blue Jays have not been directly rumored to him, he is a great fit and would greatly boost this pitching staff.

The catch to Keller though, is the Pirates are not directly trying to sell him. From an outside standpoint, it is easy to look at him as a salary dump for their cheap history or a luxury to deal in a fire sale, but Pittsburgh is really only looking for ways to improve their big league roster. Toronto can still work out a deal to not only help themselves for Keller, but also meet what the Pirates are after.

Some fans may look at Keller and think he is not worth a haul, but he really is. For three straight seasons, Keller has exceeded 30 outings on the season. He is easily on pace to do so again this year, with a career year. His 3-10 record looks bad, yet he still brings an above average ERA of 3.58 with a 3.40 FIP and a 1.17 WHIP. All are career bests, aside from an ERA of 2.91 in 21.2 innings in the Covid-shortened 2020 season. These numbers are excellent and now is the time for Toronto to make the push.

This Blue Jays' trade package might be able to acquire former All-Star Mitch Keller from Pirates ahead of MLB Trade Deadline.

Orelvis Martinez likely headlines this package back to Pittsburgh as the third ranked prospect in the organization per MLB Pipeline. Despite having a down year, he still brings a lot of power upside that the Pirates need. His 60 graded power (20-80 scale on MLB Pipeline) would fit in greatly in a weak offensive organization.

Additionally, Joey Loperfido would join this deal and quickly jump into their lineup in left field, replacing Tommy Pham who will also likely be dealt at the deadline. His recent promotion is improving his trade stock and the Pirates could really use a young outfielder with his upside. Losing him won't hurt the Blue Jays' depth chart too much, so he could defintiely be attached in this deal.

Lastly, is Paxton Schultz, the rookie reliever that has shown great strikeout stuff and could be a valuable bullpen piece in the future. His 10.27 K/9 in his first major league season shows he has some solid stuff. His ERA is slightly high at 4.56, but that really isn't a problem in his rookie year as his xERA is down to 3.84.

This package of Martinez, Loperfido, and Schultz may be able to land Keller. That would be a big hit to the 40 man roster, but to land Keller that is likely what it would cost. Toronto could easily replace these guys though and it is definitely worth it. Ross Atkins, cook something like this up to stack this rotation.