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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- José DeLeón, a major league pitcher for 13 seasons who led the National League in strikeouts for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1989, has died. He was 63.
Los Leones del Escogido, DeLeón's team in the Dominican Winter League, said he died Sunday evening at Cedimat hospital in Santo Domingo. The team said DeLeón had health issues without giving further information.
DeLeón was 86-119 with a 3.76 ERA in 264 starts and 151 relief appearances for Pittsburgh (1983-86), the Chicago White Sox (1986-87, 1993-95), St. Louis (1988-92), Philadelphia (1992-93) and Montreal (1995). The right-hander struck out 1,594 in 1,897• innings.
He topped the NL with 201 strikeouts in 1989 and and tied for the NL lead with 19 losses in 1985 and 1990.
Selected by the Pirates in the third round of the 1979 amateur draft, DeLeón made his major league debut on July 23, 1983, striking out nine over eight innings in a 5-2 win over visiting San Francisco.
DeLeón finished 7-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 15 starts and was seventh in voting for NL Rookie of the Year, an award won by the New York Mets' Darryl Strawberry.
DeLeón was traded to the Chicago White Sox in July 1986 for Bobby Bonilla, who earned four consecutive All-Star Game selections with Pittsburgh from 1988-1991.
DeLeón made his only postseason appearances in 1993, allowing one run over 4ª innings in a pair of AL Championship Series relief appearances against Toronto.
Keller gets $2M bonus
BRADENTON, Fla. -- All-Star right-hander Mitch Keller gets a $2,057,500 signing bonus as part of his $77 million, five-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 27-year-old receives a $5,442,500 salary this season, the same as under the one-year contract he agreed to last month.
His new deal, announced Friday, calls for salaries of $15 million in 2025, $16.5 million in 2026 , $18 million in 2027 and $20 million in 2028.
Keller gets a hotel suite on road trips.
He would have been eligible for free agency after the 2025 season.
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.
He is 25-38 with a 4.71 ERA in 100 starts and two relief appearances over five seasons with the Pirates. Keller is scheduled to make his second straight opening-day start.
Johnson hits homers
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Termarr Johnson hit the first Pirates home run of the spring with his two-run shot to right field in the seventh inning during the team's 8-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in exhibition play Monday.
Johnson added a 402-foot shot to right-center field in the ninth inning to become the first Pirate with a multi-homer game in the spring since Diego Castillo on March 30, 2022.
Jared Triolo doubled in his first at-bat as part of a two-hit day in his start at second base.
Starter Roansy Contreras threw a total of 35 pitches (21 strikes) while allowing two runs on four hits in two innings. Braxton Ashcraft threw 11 of his 16 pitches for strikes in a 1-2-3 third inning.
Justin Meis faced a total of three batters while tossing a scoreless seventh inning.
Bobbleheads set
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates unveiled the club's lineup of bobbleheads for the 2024 season on Monday.
The season's first bobblehead giveaway will take place on Saturday, May 5 on Star Wars night, featuring a Jedi Keller bobblehead.
On Saturday, May 25, the first 20,000 fans in attendance will have the opportunity to snag a bobblehead honoring Dave Parker, known affectionately as "The Cobra."
Pirates fans can continue adding to their Andrew McCutchen bobblehead collection on Saturday, June 22. The first 20,000 fans will have a chance at the latest version, which features the player tipping his cap to the Pittsburgh faithful.
Returning for the third consecutive season is Yinzerpalooza, as the Pirates take on the Phillies from July 19-21. The weekend will be highlighted with a bobblehead giveaway on Saturday, July 20, featuring a beloved Pittsburgh figure set to be announced soon.