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The Pittsburgh Pirates' pursuit of a National League wild-card berth suffered a significant setback on Monday when it was announced that right-hander Mitch Keller would be shut down for the rest of the season. The 30-year-old pitcher has been diagnosed with a teres major muscle strain in his throwing shoulder, an injury that will require a recovery period of six to eight weeks before he can resume throwing.
During a media availability on Monday, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington revealed that Keller likely sustained the injury during his road start against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. In that outing, Keller struggled, surrendering seven runs, including two home runs, and issuing four walks over just two-plus innings in a 10-2 defeat. Cherington noted that Keller did not report any discomfort until after he was removed from the game, and further evaluation, including an MRI, confirmed the severity of the injury.
"He wasn't reporting anything," Cherington said. "He did report it after coming out of the game (Sunday). So, it was certainly the first that I'd heard about it. Got more information (Monday) once we had the MRI. Now, just got to work with Mitch to get past this and get healthy and get into a really good offseason, which we're confident he'll do."
The injury derails what had been a promising stretch for Keller, who had recently posted two solid outings, allowing just two runs over 10 1/3 innings. However, his season has been marked by inconsistency. He began the year with a 2.85 ERA over his first seven starts, but that figure ballooned to 6.63 over his final 15 outings. Overall, Keller finished the 2026 campaign with a 6-8 record and a 5.29 ERA.
Key Analysis
Pirates manager Don Kelly expressed the team's collective disappointment, emphasizing the emotional toll on both Keller and the club. "Extremely tough to get the news on Mitch," Kelly said after Pittsburgh's 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. "Frustrating for him, first, and then from a team aspect, it's tough. We've been fortunate, haven't been really hit on the offensive side injury-wise, pitching side a little bit, but to have a starter like Mitch go down, tough."
Cherington declined to specify whether Carmen Mlodzinski would step into the rotation, deferring to Kelly on that decision. However, he confirmed that Keller's injury influenced the team's trade deadline acquisition of right-hander Lake Bachar from the Miami Marlins. In eight major league seasons, all with Pittsburgh, Keller has compiled a 48-73 record with a 4.60 ERA across 187 games (185 starts). Over 993 2/3 innings, he has recorded 926 strikeouts and 341 walks, posting a 1.381 WHIP.
Originally reported by yardbarker.