In 2016, Cole was barely making more than the minimum wage of $507,500 as he entered his third season in the majors.
The Pirates suggested a salary of $538,000, a $7,000 increase over his 2015 contract, as an example of the limited bargaining power of players who are not yet eligible for arbitration.
Because the Pirates had not included the $10,000 All-Star selection bonus in his base pay, the contract offer was actually lower than what he had earned the year prior. Problem solved.
To correct the error, the Buccaneers bumped up their offer to Cole by a penny. He got off to a good start this season, but he struggled to collect victories after that.
When he was placed on the disabled list on June 14th, retroactive to June 11th, with a strained right triceps, he was 5-4 with a 2.77 ERA after 12 starts.
Top prospect Jameson Taillon took over his rotation slot. For the first time since returning on July 16, he threw an innings-and-a-thirds complete game to defeat the Seattle Mariners, 10-1, on July 26th in a three-hitter.
As he struggled for a few more weeks, the Pirates announced that he had been placed on the 60-day DL due to right elbow inflammation on September 13th, terminating his season. He had a record of 7-10, 3.88 with 131 innings pitched in 21 starts.
Meet Mark Cole and Sharon Cole
Gerrit Cole, the New York Yankees’ pitcher, is the son of Mark and Sharon Cole. Gerrit Cole and Erin Cole, Mark and Sharon Cole’s two children.
Mark and Sharon Cole have two gorgeous children and have been married for over 40 years.
Mark Cole has always been a big Yankee fan, thus the Coles are a baseball family.
Mark claimed that neither he nor his wife Sharon, who lives in Santa Ana, Calif., have been in any of Gerrit’s 42 career roles.
Gerrit said he learned how to toss a baseball from his father while at UCLA, which included visits to every PAC-10 school.