PITTSBURGH– The Pirates have made their way into the MLB Trade Deadline fray by making a move for a back-end reliever.
The team has acquired relief pitcher Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers for two players to be named later.
According to reports, the teams have already worked out which players will be headed to Texas, but the deal get done at a late hour made contacting the effected parties difficult.
In Kela, 25, the team has acquired a reliever with a significant amount of experience pitching towards the end of games. Over the past four years, Kela has finished 57 games, and in his first year as full-time closer in 2018, he notched 24 saves for the Rangers.
Pittsburgh has already reportedly said they will not move current closer P Felipe Vazquez, who has totaled 23 saves so far this season.
However, with Kela being right-handed and Vazquez being left-handed, it could present the Pirates a chance to play the match-ups late in the game for the rest of the season.
