PITTSBURGH -- For all that went wrong with the Pirates’ pitching staff this season, the club at least felt like it had a sure thing in the ninth inning. The Bucs could either claim one of the game’s elite closers for the next few years or retain a player with enormous trade value.

Then Felipe Vázquez was arrested on Sept. 17. Vázquez is facing sexual assault charges and he will remain on the restricted list for the foreseeable future.

Now, Keone Kela is the best bet to be the Pirates’ lights-out closer and bullpen leader as he enters his final season under club control. The 26-year-old right-hander served as the Rangers’ closer before the Pirates acquired him in 2018, and he’s pitched well when healthy for Pittsburgh.

“Keone’s done it before. He’s done it well before. He would be in that role,” general manager Neal Huntington said last month. “To have a guy like Keone out there -- who’s done it, who’s done it well, who’s able to do it as we look forward -- is a good spot to have.”

With that in mind, let’s look back at Kela’s 2019 season and examine where he stands entering the offseason.

What went right?
Nearly everything that happened every time Kela took the mound from July 24 on.

After Kela returned from the injured list, he worked 18 innings in 18 appearances. He allowed one run, eight hits, no homers, seven walks and one hit opponent while striking out 22 of the 69 batters he faced. Hitters put up a pitcher-like slash line of .131/.232/.197 against him. Only two of his second-half appearances required more than 20 pitches.

Kela quickly worked his way back into a high-leverage role and locked down the Pirates’ only save following the arrest of Vázquez. Kela finished the season with a 2.12 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, giving him a 2.40 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over 48 appearances for the Bucs. He also seemed more at ease in the clubhouse down the stretch, taking on some of the leadership responsibilities that come with being the closer.

What went wrong?
His early injury, subsequent absence and the suspensions he served for fighting in the clubhouse and on the field.

Kela admitted that his throwing shoulder didn’t feel right after the Pirates broke camp and headed north, and it showed as he put together a 4.63 ERA and a a .239/.300/.543 opponents slash line in his first 14 appearances of the season. During the first month of the season, he struggled to pitch on back-to-back days, limiting then-manager Clint Hurdle’s late-inning options.

The Opening Day setup man didn’t pitch for the Pirates from May 5 until July 24. Kela made only 32 appearances overall, tied with starter Joe Musgrove for seventh most on the team. He took the mound only three more times than Geoff Hartlieb, who had a 9.00 ERA, and three fewer times than Clay Holmes (5.58 ERA).

The suspensions proved to be nearly as problematic. Kela was banned by the team for two games in late July due to his altercation with front-office staffer Hector Morales, the first of three fights in the clubhouse involving members of the bullpen. He missed 10 games in early August following the Pirates’ benches-clearing brawl with the Reds, mostly because he admitted to intentionally throwing a pitch near Derek Dietrich’s head.

Best moment
His entire second half was so impressive that it’s hard to single out just one appearance, so let’s look at two outings, both in victories over the Cubs.

On Aug. 16, Vázquez gave up a go-ahead triple to Tony Kemp in the eighth inning and the Pirates went down quietly in the bottom of the inning. Kela then took the mound for the top of the ninth against the heart of the Cubs’ lineup: Kris Bryant (struck out looking), Anthony Rizzo (walked), Javier Baez (flied out) and Kyle Schwarber (lined out). That set up the Bucs’ walk-off rally in the ninth.

On Sept. 25, Kela recorded his first save as a member of the Pirates. He issued a leadoff walk, got Jason Heyward to hit into a double play and retired Nico Hoerner to seal Pittsburgh’s win.

2020 outlook
Will the Pirates reshape their bullpen this offseason? Will Kela even be a part of their 2020 club? Huntington didn’t exactly show his hand last month when he said Kela would close “to get through the rest of the season ... then we’ll address the offseason as we get toward the offseason.”

Kela is entering his third and final year of arbitration eligibility before reaching free agency, and he is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $3.4 million next season -- an extremely reasonable rate for a pitcher of his caliber. For that reason, he’s bound to attract some level of interest on the trade market.

The Pirates could cobble together a decent bullpen if they get a bounce-back performance from setup man Kyle Crick, another solid season from Richard Rodríguez, a healthy return from Edgar Santana and continued development from Michael Feliz. Maybe the Bucs will find a left-hander or two to the mix and consider a transition to the bullpen for Chad Kuhl, adding another hard-throwing right-hander to their relief corps.

But here’s the thing: Pittsburgh doesn’t have another obvious closer-in-waiting. Kela is the best internal option in the ninth inning.