Cherington: 'We'd love for Mitch to be a Pirate for a long time'

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a budding ace in their staff in Mitch Keller, and they'd like to keep it that way.

Although general manager Ben Cherington didn't have any updates Sunday about a potential new contract for Keller, he said the hurler is the kind of player the franchise wants to extend.

"We'd love for Mitch to be a Pirate for a long time," Cherington said, according to Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette.

The Pirates have been active with extensions lately, recently signing outfielder Bryan Reynolds to an eight-year, $106.75-million contract. They also locked up third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes in 2022 on an eight-year, $70-million deal.

Keller, now in his fifth major-league season, is enjoying an impressive breakout. The 27-year-old right-hander boasts a 2.38 ERA and 2.62 FIP through nine starts. He's coming off an especially dominant outing Sunday, shutting out the Baltimore Orioles over seven innings while allowing four hits and striking out 13.

Entering the 2023 campaign, Keller owned a 5.00 ERA and 4.10 FIP. The former second-round pick is making $2.44 million this season in his first year of arbitration eligibility and won't be able to test free agency until after the 2025 season.