Done Deal: Wolves Head Coach Have Finally Agree to the $16.5million Agreement with…..

 

According to sources who spoke with ESPN, right-hander Mitch Keller and the Pittsburgh Pirates have reached an agreement on a five-year, $77 million deal extension, securing another young core member as the team works to make the playoffs for the first time in almost ten years.

According to insiders, Keller will get $7.5 million in 2024 as part of the agreement, which starts this year and concludes after the 2028 season. This amount is more than the $2 million he previously received as a settlement with the team in arbitration. Keller will be paid $15 million in 2025, the year he would have finished his arbitration. Keller will receive payments from the Pirates of $16.5 million, $18 million, and $20 million for the three free agency years that they bought out.

With a breakout season in 2023—he was named an All-Star for the first pitcher and struck out 210 in a career-high 194⅓ innings—Keller, 27, led a rotation that Paul Skenes, the top choice in last year’s draft, might soon join.

Keller is the third key player to be extended by the Pirates; he was scheduled to become a free agent following the 2025 season. Both outfielder Bryan Reynolds and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes recently inked contracts that extend through at least the 2030 season.

Hard-throwing right-hander Keller was a top prospect who struggled early in his career. Pittsburgh selected him in the second round out of an Iowa high school in 2014. After making a significant turnaround in 2022 and 2023, he finished fourth in the National League in innings pitched with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of about 4-1.

In 2023, the Pirates had a great start but faltered towards the end, ending 76-86 and in fourth place in the NL Central. This winter, they added a ton of veterans to their roster: catcher Yasmani Grandal, first baseman Rowdy Tellez, reliever Aroldis Chapman, left-handed starter Martin Perez, and legendary player Andrew McCutchen.

Keller is 25-38 with a 4.71 ERA in 102 career appearances (100 starts), after finishing 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA in the previous season. In 523⅔ innings, he has struck out 521 batters.