The Athletic posted a lengthy, detailed story exposing the Pittsburgh Pirates’ frugality, pettiness and incompetence Wednesday.

The Pirates signed No. 1 starter Mitch Keller to a five-year, $77 million contract extension Thursday.

That timing was not coincidence.

The Pirates needed to get their PR train back on track after Wednesday’s damage, though they did a good job getting local media stooges to soft-pedal the fallout from The Athletic’s story.

The deal with Keller was doubtless going to happen anyway, likely just before Opening Day. But The Athletic’s evisceration rushed the timetable.

Keller’s retention was hailed by the stooges as a triumphant moment for the little engine that won’t.

But he’s not a new player. Keller was already on the Pirates. Keller extending doesn’t improve this year’s team. Nor do the fistful of crappy free agents the Pirates signed to one-year pacts. It’s still a bad rotation and a sub-.500 roster.

Keller isn’t Cy Young Award material, either. His stats last year were meh: 4.21 ERA, 1.245 WHIP. But Keller’s ERA after the All-Star break was 5.59, his WHIP 1.44. Keller stumbled significantly.

Like Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes before him, Keller inking a long-term pact raises question about his competitive drive.

Why would any player of quality and ambition get buried in no-playoff Pittsburgh instead of formulating an escape ASAP and potentially reaping bigger rewards financially and competitively? Keller gave away three years of free agency, two years of arbitration.

Retaining Keller won’t add up to anything. The Pirates will likely trade him before the end of his contract, like Gerrit Cole. Here’s betting the hillbilly thief is already sweating Keller’s average annual value.

If this piece is full of vitriol and negativity, it’s a fair companion to the dumb optimism that greeted Keller’s extension.

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