The Pirates’ rotation had been one of the steadier parts of the team all season. That changed Monday, when the club announced Mitch Keller is done for the year with a teres major muscle injury in his right shoulder.
Keller will not be allowed to throw for six to eight weeks, which shuts the door on any chance of a return. The teres major is one of the muscles that helps control the shoulder joint, running from the shoulder blade to the top of the arm and playing a key role in extending the arm - a pretty important job for a pitcher.
That injury also helps explain why Keller’s season never really found its footing. Through 22 starts, the right-hander has posted a 5.29 ERA. He opened the year strongly, putting up a 2.85 ERA across his first seven starts, but the last stretch has gone sideways: a 6.63 ERA over his past 15 outings.
Sunday’s outing in Cincinnati was the low point. In the series finale at Great American Ball Park, Keller got just six outs, gave up seven earned runs, walked four and surrendered two long homers while struggling to find the strike zone.
It was an especially frustrating night because it came on the heels of what looked like a step in the right direction. Keller had just turned in back-to-back starts in which he allowed two earned runs over 10 1/3 innings, enough to suggest his season might finally be turning.
Instead, the Pirates now have to patch together his spot in the rotation.
The good news for Pittsburgh before this news was that, outside of Jared Jones opening the season on the 60-day injured list after internal brace surgery, the rotation had stayed intact. Now the group takes another hit at a time when the Pirates are trying to climb out of a rough patch.
After Sunday’s game, Keller was already talking about what the club needs to do to get through its current slide. The Pirates have lost 10 of 16 since the All-Star break, and Keller pointed directly to the pitching staff.
“We have to anchor the team a little bit better,” Keller said. “It’s just not acceptable for what we’re doing or what we’re capable of doing.”
The numbers back up the concern. Since July 17, Pirates starters have a 4.28 ERA over those 16 games, which ranks 23rd in MLB. Their 1.37 WHIP in that span also ranks 23rd.
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