For years, the Pirates have been surrounded by the notion that they refuse to pay to keep homegrown stars. Whether Mitch Keller blossoms into a bona fide star remains to be seen, but the extension he signed Thursday is the latest effort by Pittsburgh to buck the trend of guys getting their big payday elsewhere.
Keller agreed to a five-year $77 million extension with the Pirates, according to multiple reports. This comes on the heels of an 8-year, $70 million extension for Ke’Bryan Hayes in 2022, and an eight-year, $106.75 deal with Bryan Reynolds last April.
Keller has shown flashes of potentially being an ace one day, but thus far has had enough rough stretches to cast doubt on him being a true top of the rotation anchor. However, if he reaches his ceiling – especially if he does so sooner than later – the contract could end up looking like a bargain.
With the money being thrown around in baseball, a combined $253 million in extensions across three seasons is hardly setting any records. But in any event, it’s an indication from the Pirates of a belief in the core they’re building, and perhaps a willingness to keep potential stars around long term.
Joe Starkey praised the deal immediately after the report came out.
“It’s merely the cost of doing business, but it’s the type of thing everybody complains about,” Starkey said. “I don’t think it’s been a great offseason for the Pirates. I wanted them to spend more, I wanted them to get more players in here – and they still might. They still need a starting pitcher, I would say desperately, at this point.
“But moves like this I think should engender goodwill because they directly contradict the biggest complaints about the team – some of which, by the way, aren't entirely true, like they never sign their own stars … it sort of flies in the face of some facts like when they had the so-called dream outfield of (Andrew) McCutchen, (Starling) Marte and (Gregory) Polanco. They signed every single one of them through multiple free agent years past the age of 30. ...
“Here they’re signing (a homegrown star), or at least a potential one. I don’t yet put Keller in the ace category, but maybe that’s why you get him for 5 years, $77 million. I think it’s a great deal. What’s not to like?”
Indeed, the risk is pretty low for the Pirates. If he does become an ace, than the contract ends up looking remarkable. If not, and he becomes more of a mid-tier rotation option, that's still roughly market value for what a lot of No. 3 starters are getting.