Several Reports Have Cubs Willing to Include Owen Caissie in Mitch Keller Trade

I’ll make this quick because, shocker, I’ve got to head out for yet another 16U game. This is our last of the season, so you won’t have to deal with my excuses every weekend. Beyond that, this is a topic I’d rather just touch on quickly before maybe getting deeper as the situation warrants.

In a nutshell, there’s been a lot more buzz lately about Owen Caissie headlining a package to pry righty starter Mitch Keller from the Pirates. My issue is that, while Keller would improve the Cubs’ rotation and still has three more years at a $15.4 million average annual value, Caissie would be a very steep price to pay. We’re talking about a good-not-great starter who’s not super cheap for a haul that would include other players as well.

Bob Nightengale blurbed in his latest column that the Cubs “desperately want another starter at the deadline” and are targeting Keller. He adds that they “would include outfield prospect Owen Caissie to make it work.” Now, I know what you’re all thinking: If Nightengale’s reporting it, the opposite is probably true. Fair, but what about Ken Rosenthal?

In a recent piece for The Athletic, Rosenthal wrote that the Pirates have not yet decided whether they’re willing to move Keller, but could be convinced to do so if they “could land multiple hitters.” He then names Caissie as the starting point for a deal. Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney reported that the Cubs “would consider moving their top prospect in the right deal,” though they were referencing a potential MacKenzie Gore trade with the Nationals.

This feels to me like a little gamesmanship, whether it’s coming from the Cubs (trying to spur the Nats) or the Pirates (trying to spur other teams to up their offers). With Matt Shaw making a trade for Eugenio Suárez less likely, or at least less expensive, Jed Hoyer may be able to keep more powder dry for pitching pursuits. That said, moving Caissie for Keller feels like a bridge too far. Gore, on the other hand, makes sense.

The fact that multiple outlets are reporting the same thing means we can’t ignore the possibility, but it could also mean the back channels are being used to create leverage. We’ll have a little more certainty either way in a few days.

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