Morning Rundown: Pirates avoid arbitration with four players
Players reach contract agreements with arbitration-eligible players
Thursday was the deadline for arbitration-eligible players to exchange numbers with their respective teams.
After signing JT Brubaker on Wednesday, the Pirates had four more players eligible for arbitration, striking a deal with each one before the 1 pm deadline.
Mitch Keller - $5,442,500
David Bednar - $4,510,000
Connor Joe - $2,125,000
Edward Olivares - $1,350,000
Keller and Bednar were both All-Stars for the Pirates in 2023. Bednar was once again one of the best closers in the game, finishing with 39 saves on the season.
When it comes to Keller, he finally took that next step forward everyone hoped that he would, winning 13 games and striking out 210 batters over 194.1 innings pitched.
Acquired from the Colorado Rockies in the off-season, Joe became one of the more reliable hitters in the lineup, finishing with 46 extra-base hits in 2023.
Olivares is the most recent addition to the group, joining from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league Deivis Nadal. He picked up 12 home runs and 39 extra-base hits in 385 plate appearances.
The Pirates also announced non-roster invites to spring training for eight players.
Sergio Alcantara
Gilberto Celestino
Ben Heller
Billy McKinney
Michael Plassmeyer
Ryder Ryan
Hunter Stratton
WTM will have a further breakdown of the group and some other names on Saturday’s feature.
Did I see that Tim hung it up?
Hope the best for that guy.
Mitch Keller had a Top of the Rotation year in 2023. I have written before that he discovered a new pitch - a Sinker in 2022 and it has been a +8 Run Value in 2022, and a +11 Run Value in 2023. Other facts we should consider are the following numbers in 2023:
Wins - 13 Tied for 13th among all other qualified SP's
ERA - 4.21, 31st which is right below Alcantara, Kremer, Strider; right above Walker, Nola, Javier, Cease, Gibson, Mikolas, and Giolito
FIP - 3.80, 19th Right below Montgomery and Cease, right above Castillo, Burnes, and Verlander
It is difficult to come out of the system of the doormat of MLB, and be expected to develop winning talent combined with winning attitude. Notice the names in close proximity to him in ERA and FIP. He has very quietly risen to become the leader of our Rotation - we may not fully appreciate him, but I'll bet there's at least 10 annual contenders that would like to have him for a lot more than the chump change the Pirates are paying! Our modern day Bob Friend.