Red Sox Reportedly Interested in Pirates' Mitch Keller amid Yankees, Mets Trade Rumors

The Boston Red Sox are reportedly interested in adding Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller, although they have competition from other teams, per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Multiple teams still remain interested, with the Yankees, Cubs, Mets and Red Sox all having reached out,” Hiles stated. “The Pirates could also look to move Keller this offseason, a notion one source claims could give the club better odds of landing an established big-league hitter in return."

Hiles also went on 93.7 The Fan and said that the Pirates would need to be "blown away" by an offer to deal Keller.

Keller is signed through the 2028 season on a five-year, $77 million contract. Over 22 starts (127 innings), Keller has posted a 3.69 ERA (1.21 WHIP) and 100 strikeouts.

The seven-year veteran only has a 4-10 record, but that's largely due to poor run support (3.1 runs per nine innings, per Baseball-Reference).

As far as Boston goes, the Red Sox are fighting for a playoff spot after languishing around or below .500 for much of the season. A 10-game win streak brought Boston back into the playoff picture at 53-45. Boston has slowed a bit since then but still owns the third AL wild card spot heading into Tuesday's action at 57-51.

Boston has a great ace in Garrett Crochet but could use another starting pitcher to add to the rotation going into the stretch run. On July 16, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic wrote about the team's hope for a No. 2 starter in particular.

"The team would like to add a No. 2 starter to slide between Crochet and Brayan Bello, if they can find one for the right package, an admittedly tricky proposition at the deadline versus over the winter."

The Red Sox have options on the starting pitcher market, as The Athletic's Jim Bowden noted.

We'll see if Keller ends up in Boston, although odds may be against that happening if the asking price is at high as it reportedly appears.

Still, odds probably favor the Red Sox landing a starter somewhere as the team continues its playoff push.