After being acquired from the Reds in 2017, Keller burst onto the scene for the Royals. During his two seasons with the Royals he has been pretty dominant with a 3.08 ERA in 2018 and a 4.19 ERA in 2019.
Most people would probably agree with me that Keller needs to be extended, but probably not on the contract length or the amount of money I think the Royals should offer him. I believe they should offer Keller a 6-year deal worth $80 million. This would obviously cover the remaining arbitration years remaining on his current contract. With Keller being only 24-years of age almost 25, I believe this type of deal would be a no brainer for the Royals.
I would also like to point out that the Royals would only have just a few players under contract past the 2021 season. They’re not super expensive contracts either. When the next wave of pitchers come up, I believe Keller would also be a good veteran presence for them.
I also realize the Royals have to be smart with the Keller extension with multiple players eligible for extensions. I would also like to point out that if the Royals extend Keller they could see jersey sales increase. Now I realize that $80 million dollars might be a bit steep for the Royals; but if they want to compete soon, they must lock up Hunter Dozier, Adalberto Mondesi, Jorge Soler and Brad Keller to long-term deals.
