Bleacher Report thinks the Braves should trade AJ Smith-Shawver for Pirates righty Mitch Keller.

It’s that time of year again, people: trade speculation season.

Bleacher Report published an article with possible trades for each MLB team, and their match of the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates is undoubtedly intriguing:Atlanta sends the following players: RHP AJ Smith-Shawver, RHP Allan Winans, and SS Brad Shewmake.

Why would Atlanta trade for Mitch Keller?

Bleacher Report’s rationale was that Atlanta has rotation uncertainty behind the top two and Keller would be one of the better #3 starters in all of MLB.

The Atlanta Braves have some questions in the starting rotation that will need to be answered this offseason as they gear up for another title push.
Max Fried, Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder will presumably fill three spots on the staff, but Kyle Wright will start the year on the injured list and CharliMortonturns40yearsold next month and dealt with injury issues down the stretch.

Keller would, in fact, be a pretty good #3 starter. A first time All-Star in 2023 at age 27, Keller went 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA in 32 starts for Pittsburgh. He struck out 210 batters in his 194.1 innings (9.7 K/9), and had a FIP of 3.80, showing that he was slightly unlucky.

Since becoming a full-time starter during the 2021 season, he’s started 82 games and tied for the NL lead with one complete game shutout, holding the Colorado Rockies scoreless on four hits on May 8th, striking out eight and walking only one.