The Pirates acquired right-handed Kyle Keller of the Angels in exchange for cash considerations, both teams announced. To create a climbing space, the Pirates noticed that the right-handed Edgar Santana has been assigned for assignment.
Keller joined DFA earlier this week, and now the 27-year-old is traded for the second time in 15 months, after joining the Angels in an exchange with the Marlins in January 2020. Keller appeared in each of the nas last two seasons, with an ERA of 4.15 out of 13 MLB entries with Miami and Los Angeles, eliminating 12 hitters, but also missing ten.
Working almost exclusively as a reliever throughout his professional career, Keller has a 3.53 ERA and a strike rate of 31.8% on 249 2/3 career entries in the Miami agricultural system. Control was not so problematic in the minors (8.9% walk rate) it was at the level of the big league for Keller, and the Pirates are hoping he can provide some bullpen depth to a team of pitchers who missed some start and relief of injury candidates early.
Santana is well aware of the injuries, having undergone Tommy John’s surgery in September 2018. The rehabilitation process cost Santana the entire 2019 season, and he missed the entire 2020 season due to a suspension of 80 games per PED. According to the terms of the suspension, Santana still had to stay out of the first 20 games of this season before he could return to the field.
Before his career was interrupted, Santana had solid results in his first two seasons in the MLB. The right-hander posted 3.31 ERA / 3.77 SIERA at 84 1/3 innings of the Pittsburgh bullpen in 2017-18, with an impressive 6.8% hike rate, but a strikeout rate below the average of 21% .