Maybe the only people more excited than Mitch Keller after the Pirates announced a new five-year contract extension worth $77 million were his teammates, who to a man expressed their happiness for the right-hander. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes said they were “super happy”; outfielder Brian Reynolds called it a “turning of the tides (that) signals that (the Pirates) are here to compete and win instead of play and trade.”
One of the most excited Bucs was bullpen ace David Bednar, who is seen as the next Pirate in line for a multi-year extension.
Bednar said Keller’s signing was “an awesome win for the organization, an awesome win for the fan base.”
Keller set the record for a Pirates right-hander last season with 210 strikeouts. He had two big bits of news yesterday, Manager Derek Shelton presented him with a bottle of wine and told him he will be the Opening Day starter for the second straight year, March 28th at Miami.
MLB
Major League Baseball is dealing with a growing list of complaints about their ridiculous looking new alternate uniforms. The Major League Baseball Players Association is gathering feedback from its members, especially about the see-through pants Nike foisted on them. The new unis have been dubbed “performance jerseys” by commissioner Rob Manfred and were used at last year’s All-Star Game. An MLB spokesperson said in a statement that adjustments are being made to the jersey size, waist, in-seam, thigh fit and the bottom of pants.
