Keone Kela Could Be The Next Closer For The Pittsburgh Pirates

Keone Kela (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)

The first order of business for the newly announced Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington could be what to do with the Pirates issue at closer. On Tuesday, Felipe Vazquez faced 21 additional charges of sexual assault of a minor and it safe to say his future Major League Baseball career is in jeopardy.

The Pirates are in the process of probably having to move on with the position, and now the question is who will they try to bring in to preserve victories. Vazquez was simply sensational for Pittsburgh in 2019 on the mound. The 28 year-old southpaw from Venezuela was an all-star for the second straight year in 2019, had a record of five wins, one loss, an earned run average of 1.65, and a WHIP of 0.93. In 56 games, Vazquez had 28 saves (one save for every two games), and pinpoint control as he had 90 strikeouts compared to only 13 walks in 60 innings. He also only gave up 43 hits and 11 earned runs in that time.

There is no doubt that the Pirates had a franchise player in Vazquez. Now Cherington, who was only hired by the Pirates on Monday after being the Toronto Blue Jays vice-president of baseball operations, now has the difficult task of helping find Pittsburgh a closer for 2020.

Without going through the free agent system, one legitimate option is looking within the organization itself. Twenty-six year old Keone Kela of Los Angeles, has now been with the Pirates the last two seasons as a reliever after beginning his career for four seasons with the Texas Rangers. Last season, Kela pitched in 32 games and had an excellent earned run average of 2.12. He had two wins, one save and a WHIP of 1.01.

It should be noted that Vazquez also faced charges in the state of Florida according to ESPN. The recent charges are further proof that professional sports athletes are no longer above the law.