A Pittsburgh teammate of Korean major leaguer Bae Ji-hwan (24) is about to hit the jackpot at the age of 20.
USA Today reported on the 15th (Korean time), “Pittsburgh is negotiating a long-term contract with starting pitcher Mitch Keller.”
Keller is playing the role of Pittsburgh’s ace, pitching in 9 games at the age of 27 this year and throwing 56⅔innings with a record of 5 wins, 1 loss and an ERA of 2.38. In particular, in the game against Baltimore on the 15th, he caught 13 strikeouts in 7 innings and showed fantastic pitching with 4 hits and no runs.
Keller’s major league debut came in 2019. Keller, who broke through 100 innings for the first time in 2021 (100⅔ innings) and left an average ERA of 6.17 with 5 wins and 11 losses, showed off a better pitching with 5 wins and 12 losses with an ERA of 3.91 last year while digesting 159 innings. At one time, Keller was a player with a high proportion of four-seam fastballs, but this year, he is effectively dealing with batters with various weapons such as four-seam fastballs, cutters, sinkers, and curveballs while adding a cutter.
If this is the case, Keller can exercise his free agent rights after the 2025 season. Pittsburgh will want to hold on to Keller, who has just established himself as an ace.
How can Pittsburgh ‘treat’ Keller to agree on a long-term contract? Keller’s annual salary this year is $2,437,500 (approximately 3.3 billion won). ‘MLB Trade Rumors (MLBTR)’, which delivers major league news, cited the long-term contract signed by San Francisco right-hander Logan Webb on the 16th as an example. San Francisco signed a long-term contract with Webb last month for five years and 90 million dollars (approximately 120.6 billion won).안전놀이터
‘MLBTR’ said, “Keller’s agent can logically compare Webb’s five-year, $90 million contract with San Francisco.” He predicted that Webb’s long-term contract could be a reference point for Keller as well.
Pittsburgh is a small market club that represents the major leagues, but last year, it signed an extension contract with Brian Hayes for 8 years and 70 million dollars (approximately 93.8 billion won), and this year with Brian Reynolds for 7 years and 100 million dollars (approximately 134.1 billion won). are increasing the size. In particular, Reynolds needs to pay attention to Pittsburgh’s future move in that it is Pittsburgh’s first contract worth 100 million dollars since its founding. It is encouraging that he is already making moves to sign a long-term contract with Keller.