Pirates continue commitment to future by extending All-Star SP
The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't made the playoffs since 2015 and haven't won a postseason game since 2013.
Still, the Pirates have increased their win total each year this decade and the arrow only appears to continue pointing up following Thursday's contract extension with ace Mitch Keller.
Keller's deal comes after Pittsburgh signed other core pieces like Gold Glove third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes and one-time All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds to eight-year extensions in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The Pirates also brought back 2013 NL MVP outfielder Andrew McCutchen ahead of last season on a one-year deal and re-signed him in December for the 2024 campaign. The presence of "Cutch" doesn't say much in terms of the future of the franchise, but is at the very least, good for nostalgia.
Keller is the anchor of a new-look starting rotation that brought in a pair of lefties in 2022 All-Star Martin Perez and longtime Seattle Mariners hurler Marco Gonzales.
The 27-year-old righthander was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft and made his big-league debut in May 2019. Following a tough 11-game stint in 2019 and a strong five-start showing in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Keller had a brutal 2021.
The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native finished 2021 at 5-11 with a 6.17 ERA and 1.78 WHIP in 100 2/3 innings pitched across 23 starts. Keller bounced back with a solid 2022 campaign before his true breakout in 2023.
He finished last season 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA and career-low 1.24 WHIP while ranking fifth in the NL in strikeouts (210) and fourth in innings pitched 194 1/3. The All-Star led the Bucs' starting rotation in wins, ERA, WHIP, strikeouts and innings pitched, among other categories.
Along with Reynolds and Hayes, Keller was a key part to the team's 20-9 start through April last season. Pittsburgh couldn't sustain the pace through the summer, but still finished with their most wins since 2018 (76).
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