'I couldn't be more thrilled': Pirates reward Mitch Keller's perseverance, bank on his future

BRADENTON, Fla. — As Mitch Keller thanked his Pittsburgh Pirates coaches and teammates for their support, the All-Star right-hander and staff ace got emotional. He paused to collect his composure and focused on his future.

“It’s a really exciting time to be a Pirate,” Keller said, “and I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

The peaks and valleys Keller has endured in his five-year major league career had paid off in the form of a five-year, $77 million contract extension that will keep him with the Pirates through 2028, and the formal announcement was celebrated Friday afternoon on the left field party deck at LECOM Park.

“This doesn’t seem real,” Keller said. “It honestly hasn’t set in yet. I’m just super grateful. Those times when everyone just leaned into me and gave me the confidence when I had probably zero, they let me know who I was as a person and who I was as a player was gonna be able to come through. That springboarded me into the past few seasons when it’s been really good. It’s been a rollercoaster, and I’m just trying to stay even-keeled through it all.”

All-Star RHP Mitch Keller on signing a 5-year, $77 million contract extension with the Pirates. pic.twitter.com/6Y3iW24lDD

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 23, 2024

What was described by both sides as a long process was expedited this week when Pirates chairman Bob Nutting had an extended conversation with Keller on the practice field Tuesday afternoon at the Pirate City training complex. It clarified Keller’s stance that he wanted to stay with the team that drafted and developed him and Nutting’s intention for the Pirates to add another franchise cornerstone.

“It really wasn’t anything crazy of a conversation,” Keller told TribLive. “We were talking about my journey and where I am now, and he just wanted to know my input on the pitching side. I told him honestly and truthfully what I thought, and they were all really good things, that I think we’re headed in the right direction. That night we got an offer sent over, and it just went from there.”

The Pirates and Keller came to an agreement Thursday on a contract that represents franchise records for the most paid to a pitcher and the highest average annual value, at $15.4 million. The sides discussed a deal as long as 10 years but settled on a mid-term contract that keeps Keller with the Pirates through his age 32 season, which allows him to cash in on another deal in his pitching prime.

“It wasn’t going to make sense to go shorter. It didn’t feel like it was going to make sense to try to go much longer,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “With term, that was the sweet spot that everybody felt made sense. … Any longer or shorter was just going to make it more complicated.”

Cherington said the contract extension talks intensified around the time Keller avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $5,442,500 salary last month. Keller received a $2,057,500 signing bonus that bumps his salary to $7.5 million this season, a source confirmed to TribLive. The final four years of the deal pays Keller an annual average value of $17.375 million. That’s still a team-friendly deal for a 27-year-old pitcher coming off a career year.

Keller went 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, led Pirates pitchers with 32 starts and 194 1/3 innings pitched and set a franchise record for strikeouts by a right-hander, with a career-best 210. It was a pivotal turning point for the 2014 second-round pick, who has a 25-38 record with a 4.71 ERA in five major league seasons.

“Bob understood the type of player he had and wanted to make a commitment to Mitch,” Keller’s agent, Brent Warren, told TribLive. “I think that was it. The Pirates understood they were getting pretty close to Mitch outpitching his ability to stay here.”

Pirates chairman Bob Nutting on the importance of signing Mitch Keller. pic.twitter.com/Y0dxanPS7Z

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 23, 2024

The Pirates have now spent a quarter-billion dollars to lock up three franchise cornerstones with long-term deals. Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes signed an eight-year, $70 million contract extension in 2022 and left fielder Bryan Reynolds an eight-year, $106.75 million deal last April. Keller provides a building block for the Pirates, who have seven pitchers among their top 10 prospects, with 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes regarded as the top pitching prospect in baseball.

“It’s certainly what we know we need to do,” Nutting said. “We need to identify the right players, we need to develop the right players and we need to commit to the ones internally coming up through the system. We also know that we’re always going to have to supplement, come outside as well, but the core needs to be people who are part of the Pirates organization, understand how hard they worked, and Mitch really represents that extraordinarily well.

“He’s been through so much, much as the Pirates have been through so much, that having him (being) a part of the core rotation as we look forward is going to be important. That will help these young pitchers. There’s a lot of talent in the organization coming up behind him. If you had to pick a player, pick a pitcher, to lead the way, we’re extremely pleased to have Mitch in that role.”

After a disastrous major league debut in May 2019, being demoted to Triple-A for seven weeks in 2021 and then bumped to the bullpen for a few games, Keller turned a strong second half in 2022 into a breakthrough season that saw him pitch with confidence and conviction.

Cherington views Keller’s contract as an investment in the Pirates’ young pitching prospects, as it provides stability in the starting rotation and provides a veteran model to follow who can share his own trials and tribulations and ability to overcome them.

Now, Keller can concentrate on pitching without having to worry about whether he’s a trade candidate or facing free agency in 2026. And he’s hoping his commitment allows the Pirates to sign more players, including free agents, who will push them into the playoffs.

“It’s really freeing. Now I can just go worry about winning a baseball game rather than stressing out about every little thing,” Keller said. “I’m still going out there and competing as hard as I can every day. This doesn’t change anything on that end, but it adds another level of camaraderie and having a core group of players that will be here for an extended period of time, which I, personally, believe that really helps a team come together even more. You can be as skilled as you want on and off the field, but having that group of guys together is really what drives teams to be a winning ball club.”