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The Associated Press
BRADENTON, Fla. -- All-Star pitcher Mitch Keller and Pittsburgh finalized a $77 million, five-year contract on Friday, and the Pirates said he will be their opening day starter at Miami on March 28.
The agreement, the largest the Pirates have given a pitcher, replaces a one-year agreement last month worth $5,442,500. Keller would have been eligible for free agency after the 2025 season.
A 27-year-old right-hander, Keller is coming off a breakthrough season in which he became a first-time All-Star. He finished 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA on a Pirates team that went 76-86.
This will be his second straight opening-day start. He pitched five innings without a decision in last year's opening 5-4 win at Cincinnati.
The agreement figures to give Pittsburgh some long-term stability at the top of the rotation as they try to move closer to contention in the NL Central following a methodical top-to-bottom overhaul that began when the team hired general manager Ben Cherington in the fall of 2019.
The deal is the last in a series of moves in recent years to lock down players the team considers the "core" of the rebuild. Pittsburgh signed Gold Glove third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes to a $70 million, eight-year deal before the 2022 season and inked centerfielder Bryan Reynolds to a $106.75 million, eight-year deal last April.
For Pete's sake…
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen doesn't anticipate a resolving Pete Alonso's future with the team until after the season.
The 29-year-old three-time All-Star is eligible for free agency after the World Series. He hired Scott Boras as an agent last fall and avoided arbitration last month by agreeing to a $20.5 million, one-year contract. The first baseman has 192 homers in five seasons.
"I don't expect anything to transpire before Pete reaches free agency," Cohen said in a preview of the Mets' official podcast, "Meet at the Apple," that was released Friday. "We're always open to conversation, but he's earned the right to explore his value, and I'm highly supportive of all players doing that."
Alonso batted .217 with a .318 on-base percentage, 46 homers and 118 RBIs last year. That followed a 2022 season in which Alonso hit .271 with 40 homers and 131 RBIs, which tied for the big league lead.,
The 2019 NL Rookie of the Year hit a big league-high 53 homers in 2019.
"Listen, we want to keep him," Cohen said. "He's an important part of our team today and hopefully in the future."
Cohen praised Alonso's durability and ability to play in the New York spotlight. He also pointed out Alonso's status as a fan favorite by noting that, "I'm not tone deaf, OK?"
Nola signs with Royals
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Kansas City Royals signed Austin Nola to a one-year contract, adding a veteran catcher to provide some insurance behind Salvador Perez alongside young backup Freddie Fermin.
Nola gets a $975,000 salary while in the major leagues and $175,000 while in the minors. He can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses for games while in the major leagues.
The 34-year-old was released from a minor league contract by Milwaukee on Thursday after the Brewers finalized a deal with Gary Sanchez. Nola appeared in 110 games for San Diego two years ago, hitting .251 with four homers and 40 RBIs.
Too revealing?
MESA, Ariz. -- Major League Baseball is showing off new uniforms during this year's spring training.
The biggest problem is they might be showing too much.
A series of pictures have shown a slightly embarrassing problem with MLB's new look: At least a handful of teams have white pants that are relatively see-through, making for some less-than-ideal pictures.
"I know everyone hates them," Phillies shortstop Trea Turner said last week. "We all liked what we had. We understand business, but I think everyone wanted to keep it the same way, for the most part, with some tweaks here or there."
That criticism might be a little harsh, but there are still some legitimate concerns about the uniforms with MLB's regular season approaching in about a month.
Nike has been designing MLB uniforms since 2020 and Fanatics has been manufacturing them since 2017, but this is the first year for the Nike Vapor Premier jerseys.
MLB officials say these uniforms improve mobility by providing 25% more stretch and also will dry 28% faster. The lettering, sleeve emblems and numbering are less bulky in an attempt to make uniforms more breathable and comfortable.
There are parts of the new uniforms that many players seem to enjoy, particularly the lightweight feeling. Players tried on versions of the new Vapor Premier uniforms during last year's All-Star festivities and many liked them.
Generally speaking, athletes usually aren't big fans of change. That's certainly true of baseball players.
It's not uncommon for MLB players to be upset about something in spring training. Last year, the biggest complaints were about the sport's new rules package that included a pitch clock, bigger bases and limits on how many times pitchers could step off the rubber.
Despite those misgivings, the rules package has been widely-regarded as one of the most successful initiatives MLB has unveiled in decades.
So when the players started complaining about the uniforms this spring, it seemed like normal blowback. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred dismissed the criticism last week, saying players would get used to the uniforms and eventually like them.
But that's until the pants problem became known. Essentially, when players are wearing white tops and white pants, the tucked-in jersey sometimes make it look like players are wearing a diaper because the pants are relatively see-through.
There have also been distribution problems. Some teams have their 2024 uniforms, while others don't. The San Diego Padres used last year's white pants in their spring training opener on Thursday.
WHAT CAN THE PLAYERS DO ABOUT IT
Major League Baseball Players Association deputy executive director Bruce Meyer confirmed the organization is relaying concerns from players to MLB about the new pants.
Nike has also dispatched some representatives to Arizona and Florida, trying to fix player concerns.
"We always put the athlete at the center of everything we do," Nike said in a statement. "We worked closely with MLB players, teams and the league to create the most advanced uniforms in the history of MLB which are lighter and more flexible.
"The quality and the performance of our product is of the utmost importance to us. We will continue to work with MLB, the players and our manufacturing partner to address player uniforms.
HOW DO THEY FIX THE PROBLEM
The supply issues could potentially be fixed by opening day, which is on March 28 for most teams.
As for the see-through nature of the pants, that might be a little harder to fix. One potential solution is that players could wear last year's pants until the problems are solved.
Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove shrugged off the controversy on Thursday, saying that it was far from the most important thing he's worried about this spring, even if it's a little annoying.
"Pants are pants -- we're going to wear them," he said. "If they don't fit right, you'll deal with it."
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