The Bucco Beat

As it stands right now, Mitch Keller is the only guaranteed pitcher to be in the Pirates starting rotation in 2024. Recent news suggests Johan Oviedo could miss the entire 2024 season with an elbow related injury. As of right now, it’s currently unknown the severity of the injury and the course of action that will be taken to resolve it. What we do know is that Tommy John surgery, along with various other options, have been discussed. Keller had a very interesting 2023 season to say the least. The best way to describe Keller’s season in 2023 would be a roller coaster. He started out the season performing very strong, then proceeded to lose his stuff mid-season. However, in the concluding weeks of the season, we saw some encouraging outings. In 2023, Keller had a record of 13-9 with a total of 210 strikeouts over 194 innings and a WHIP of 1.25. The first point I want to make is the potential addition to Paul Skenes to the rotation on Opening Day. Unfortunately, I view this as a slim to none probability for many reasons. The first, and most obvious reason, service time manipulation. Unfortunately we’ve seen the Pirates use this tactic with many top tier prospects, and history would suggest it wont change, especially with Paul Skenes. Another point to consider is that he’s only 21 years old. With only 5 starts under his belt in his professional career, I believe the best course of action would be to keep Skenes in the minors. Could we see Skenes at some point in 2024? Absolutely. But 1 huge problem still remains, if Skenes won’t join Keller in the rotation in 2024, who will? Unfortunately, I really don’t see any huge names joining the Pirates starting rotation in free agency. Let’s just put it as simple as I can. If Lance Lynn got $10 million from the Cardinals, the starting pitching market is going to be very pricey this offseason. There are a ton of good options available, but I fear that the cost would be too much, at least for Bob Nutting standards. As we all know, that’s never a good sign for Pirates fans. Trades could be a very useful option as I do believe this is the Pirates best avenue to improve the rotation in 2024. We have the assets to construct a trade, but that’s not the issue. The main issue will be keeping and retaining players long term. As any Pirate fan fears, a trade deadline trade could always happen, or even worse, letting go of players in free agency due to budget constraints. The Pirates have a bunch of options inside the organization itself that could bolster the rotation. Players like Roansy Contreras, Luis Ortiz, and Quinn Priester are all options the Pirates could utilize in 2024. Let’s be honest, having 3 guys in the rotation that are at best a 5th day spot isn’t a good look, nor can provide sustainable stability or success. I will admit, with the current state of the Pirates rotation, I do fully expect one of these three guys to be in the rotation come 2024 Opening Day. So to wrap this article up, the Pirate I am most thankful for is Mitch Keller in 2024. Mitch Keller is going to have to carry the Pirates’ rotation on his back the entirety of the 2024 season. From expensive free agents, to starting the year without Skenes, the Pirates starting rotation could be looking very rough to start 2024. That’s why I’m raising my glass to Mitch Keller, we’re very thankful in advance for your efforts in 2024!