MLBTR Newsletter: Keller Gets 5-Year, 55-Million Extenson From Pirates
Courtesy of Tim Dierkes
Pirates to Extend Mitch Keller
The Pirates came to terms with ace Mitch Keller on a five-year, $77-million extension on Thursday, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The deal includes the 2024 season, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, so $71.5575 million of the guarantee is new money, as Keller and the Pirates had already reached an arbitration settlement for the coming season. Also, since Keller had previously been under team control through 2025, the pact extends the Pirates control over Keller by three years, through 2028, Keller’s age-32 season. Keller’s guarantee is the second largest in Pirates history, behind Bryan Reynolds’ seven-year, $100-million extension from last April, just edging out the eight-year, $70-million extension Ke’Bryan Hayes signed in April 2022. The average annual value of Keller’s deal, $15.4 million over the full five years, is a franchise record.
The team’s second-round pick in 2014, Keller joined the Pirates’ rotation in late May of 2019 but didn’t really find his feet in the majors until 2022. Over the last two seasons, Keller has posted a 105 ERA+ in 353 1/3 innings, and he has steadily improved his strikeout and walk rates in each of the last three campaigns, resulting in a 3.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2023, as well as his first All-Star selection last season. Still, Keller’s ace status on the Pirates is a default position. Much like Hayes, Keller is not a star as much as he is a former high draft pick who has proven to be a capable major leaguer, and his extension speaks more to the Pirates’ optimism about his future than about the quality of his play up to this point. Still, the Pirates have now locked up a core player at the start of each of the last three seasons and have Keller, Hayes, and Reynolds (as well as recently graduated prospects like Oneil Cruz, Henry Davis, and Endy Rodríguez) all under control through at least 2028, which has to be an encouraging turn of events for Pirates fans, even if none of those players proves to be a true superstar.
Marlins to Sign Tim Anderson
The Marlins have finally come to terms with free-agent on a major-league contract this offseason, agreeing to a one-year, $5-million pact with shortstop Tim Anderson, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. An All-Star in 2021 and ’22, Anderson will slot in as the Marlins’ starting shortstop as he seeks to rebound from a career-worst season in 2023. A former first-round pick and top prospect, Anderson hit .318/.347/.474 (122 OPS+) from 2019 to ’22, leading the American League in batting average in 2019, winning the Silver Slugger in 2020, and making the All-Star team in ’21 and ’22. Last year, however, he turned 30, hit just .245/.286/.296 (60 OPS+), and was a full two wins below replacement level, per Baseball-Reference’s calculations. Anderson’s plate production is heavily dependent on his ability to hit for .300-plus averages. He rarely walks, and while he has shown 15-homer power in the past, he hit just seven home runs in the last two years combined. Last year, he went deep just once while his groundball rate spiked. Meanwhile, his play in the field has declined in recent seasons per the advanced metrics. All of that makes this a pivotal season for Anderson. He could rebound and reestablish himself as star player, combining with second baseman Luis Arraez to give Miami a pair of .300 hitters in the middle infield and with center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. to give the Marlins a devastating amount of swagger, or he could play himself out of the starting shortstop job by mid-season, which could prove to be a career-ending outcome.
Tigers Sign Gio Urshela
The Tigers signed infielder Gio Urshela to a one-year, $1.5-million contract on Thursday. The deal includes $100,000 bonuses for reaching each of 500, 530, 560, 590, and 620 plate appearances, giving it a maximum value of $2 million. Urshela is likely to fill a role on the Tigers similar to the one that recent signees Amed Rosario and Whit Merrifield are likely to fill on the Rays and Phillies, respectively. Urshela could open the season as the Tigers’ third baseman, but he’s more likely to spend the year bouncing around the infield as needed.
Urshela played all four infield positions for the Angels last year despite appearing in just 62 games due to a season-ending pelvic fracture. He’s by far most experienced at third base, but the Tigers may install prospect Jace Jung at the hot corner before the year is out (per Evan Woodbery of MLive.com, the Tigers have already told Jung he will open the season in the minors), and Detroit also has lefty Zach McKinstry and two other righties—Matt Vierling and Andy Ibáñez—in the mix for playing time at third base. Meanwhile, Javier Báez is coming off a career-worst season and could start to lose playing time at shortstop if he doesn’t rebound this year. At second base, Detroit has installed top prospect Colt Keith in the wake of signing him to an extension, but Keith will make his major-league debut on Opening Day and has played just 59 games above Double-A; his success isn’t guaranteed. Ibáñez and McKinstry could also be in the mix at second base if Keith struggles.
The Tigers are expected to begin to contend again this year, so they will have to balance performance and development to a greater degree than they have in recent seasons. At 32, Urshela is the second-oldest hitter on the Tigers’ 40-man roster (behind 35-year-old Mark Canha), and he’s on a one-year deal, while every other player I’ve mentioned here (other than Canha) is under control for multiple seasons. However, Urshela may be the most dependable player of the bunch coming into the season, as, setting aside his two star-level seasons with the Yankees in 2019 and ’20, he has hit a solid .281/.323/.415 (105 OPS+) over the last three years and remains an above-average glove at third base.
Kodai Senga to Open Season on IL with Shoulder Capsule Strain
Mets ace Kodai Senga has a moderate posterior capsule strain in his throwing shoulder and will be shut down until his symptoms subside, president of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters on Thursday. There is no timetable for Senga’s return, but the Mets have already determined that he will open the year on the injured list. This is a significant scare for the Mets and their fans. Senga is entering the second year of a five-year contract and is coming off an outstanding MLB-debut season in which he posted a 2.98 ERA (142 ERA+), struck out 29 percent of the batters he faced, made the All-Star team, and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting and seventh in the Cy Young voting. In the wake of the team’s retrenchment, he is far and away the Mets’ best starting pitcher and was poised to be the anchor of their rotation going forward. It’s unclear how serious this injury is, but capsule injuries can be career-altering. Mets fans know that firsthand, as a capsule tear is what derailed Johan Santana’s career, though that was an anterior capsule. The hope here is that the Mets have shut Senga down before he was able to do significant damage to the capsule.
White Sox Rule 5 LHP Shane Drohan Has Shoulder Surgery
White Sox lefty Shane Drohan, who was selected in December’s Rule 5 draft, had nerve-decompression surgery on his pitching shoulder Thursday morning, manager Pedro Grifol told reporters. The team is hoping that Drohan will be able to begin throwing before the end of Spring Training, but he is sure to start the season on the injured list, and the team has not provided an timeline for his full recovery. Drafted out of Florida State University by the Red Sox in the fifth round in 2020, Drohan has been a starter thus far in his career and reached Triple-A last year, albeit with poor results (6.47 ERA, 6.4 BB/9 in 89 innings at the level).
Also
Royals signed C Austin Nola to a major-league contract, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Nola had been in Brewers camp as a non-roster invitee, but Milwaukee, which recently signed catcher Gary Sánchez, released Nola Thursday night to allow him to accept the Royals’ offer.
Brewers have added former first baseman Justin Bour to their player development department, Bour announced on social media. Bour retired from playing last February.
Contract Updates
Brewers’ revised contract with C Gary Sánchez does include a mutual option, per the Associated Press. Sánchez will receive a $3-million salary this season, and the buyout on the mutual option is dependent on the number of days Sánchez spends on the active roster (or on the injured list for a bone or ligament injury to a part of his body other than his right wrist). The buyout will be $1 million if he totals at least 60 days, $2 million if he totals at least 90 days, $3 million for at least 120 days, and $4 million for at least 150 days. The pact also includes a $1-million assignment bonus. Sánchez told reporters that he fully recovered from his right-wrist fracture this offseason but injured his hand during offseason workouts, prompting the renegotiation of his contract.
Injury News & Updates
Astros RHP Justin Verlander (shoulder) threw a bullpen on Thursday, and RHP J.P. France (shoulder) threw off a mound on Wednesday, the latter per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Manager Joe Espada told reporters he is “encouraged” by Verlander’s progress.
White Sox RHP John Brebbia has a calf strain but is still expected to be ready for Opening Day, manager Pedro Grifol told reporters.
Rumors
Astros RHP Dylan Coleman and LHP Bennett Sousa are strong contenders for the Opening Day bullpen, general manager Dana Brown told Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. LHP Framber Valdez told Chandler Rome of The Athletic that he has not received any kind of extension offer from the team this offseason.
Albert Pujols will manage LIDOM’s Leones del Escogido in next winter’s Dominican-winter-league season. Pujols told Alden González of ESPN that he would like to manage in the majors.
Roster Moves
Tigers designated OF TJ Hopkins for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for IF Gio Urshela.
Minor-League Transactions
Marlins signed RHP Vladimir Gutierrez to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league Spring Training, per Francys Romero.
Red Sox re-signed LHP Joely Rodríguez to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league Spring Training, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.