MLB Insider: Inside the Pirates’ lucrative extension with All-Star Mitch Keller
![Sep 8, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller (23) throws Sep 8, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller (23) throws](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3070,h_1726,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/229/01hqpb0p7kdqy3gf2w1d.jpg)
In recent years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have extended a couple of homegrown players. On Opening Day in 2022, they signed Ke’Bryan Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract. On April 25 last year, they signed Bryan Reynolds to an eight-year, $106.75 million contract, the largest deal in franchise history.
During spring training this year, they extended right-hander Mitch Keller on a five-year, $77 million contract, the largest deal for a pitcher in franchise history. Here’s a breakdown of the contract, according to major-league sources.
Mitch Keller signs with Pirates: Contract breakdown
- 2024: $5,442,500
- 2025: $15 million.
- 2026: $16.5 million.
- 2027: $18 million.
- 2028: $20 million.
The deal, which does not include any club options, would pay Keller $650,000 if he won the Cy Young Award and $250,000 for second and $150,000 for third place.
Keller, 27, is coming off a season in which he posted a 4.21 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 194.1 innings pitched. In his five major league seasons with the Pirates since making his debut in 2019, Keller recorded a 4.71 ERA, a 25-38 win-loss record, a 1.499 WHIP, 521 strikeouts, 198 walks in 532.1 innings pitched (102 games, 100 starts).
His extension is in line with Pablo Lopez’s four-year, $73.5 million contract extension that he signed in April 2023. The deal now ensures that Keller will be a foundational piece atop the Pirates’ rotation and pair with 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes once he reaches the majors.
dark. Next. MLB Insider: Cubs’ best offseason steal wasn’t Cody Bellinger after all. MLB Insider: Cubs’ best offseason steal wasn’t Cody Bellinger after all