Dale Crosby Close
BRADENTON, Fla. — The first player drafted this decade was Bryce Harper, who is now starting a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. The third player drafted was Manny Machado, who is now starting a 10-year, $300 million contract with the San Diego Padres.
Tucked within that $630 million sandwich, with the second overall pick in 2010, was Jameson Taillon, a starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates whose career has been sidetracked by a torn elbow ligament, a sports hernia and testicular cancer.
“I always made sure when I was hurt that my investments were going well and they were in a good place,” Taillon, 27, said, smiling last month at the Pirates’ training complex here.