Back to the Pittsburgh Pirates Newsfeed

Gerrit Cole, Jordy Mercer agree to new deals with Pirates

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates reached one-year deals with ace Gerrit Cole and shortstop Jordy Mercer on Friday but will head to arbitration with closer Tony Watson.

Cole will make $3.75 million this season, a significant bump over the $541,000 he earned in 2016. The former No. 1 pick went 7-10 with a 3.88 ERA in 2016 and struggled to stay healthy. He will be called on to lead a revamped staff that will include recently re-signed Ivan Nova and Jameson Taillon.

Mercer shook out of an early slump to hit .