Mitch Keller is staying in Pittsburgh for a while as he and the Pirates agreed to a five-year, $77 million extension Thursday morning.
Keller agreed to a one-year deal in January to avoid arbitration, but talks of a long-term extension stemmed a few days ago after he was seen chatting with team owner Bob Nutting off the field in Bradenton.
He’s coming off a season where he went 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA with a career-high 210 strikeouts in just under 200 innings. He was also named to the NL All-Star team in July.
As if Keller’s day couldn’t get better, when manager Derek Shelton presented him with a celebratory bottle of champagne, he told Keller quote, “It’s time to make your second Opening Day start, isn’t it,” indicating that he will start the team’s inaugural game in Miami on March 28.
The Pirates have now locked in three of their core players, with Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds signing extensions in the last two years.
In other news, the Pirates announced their list of probable pitchers for their Grapefruit League opener against Minnesota on Saturday, and it will feature several left-handed hurlers. They are:
- LHP Bailey Falter
- RHP Jared Jones
- LHP Michael Plassmeyer
- LHP Josh Fleming
- LHP Jose Hernandez
- RHP Kyle Nicolas
- RHP Hunter Stratton
You’ll hear Saturday’s game at 1 on WCCS 101.1 FM and AM 1160.
