Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon 'happy' for Gerrit Cole's record-setting arbitration win

BRADENTON, Fla. – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon was rooting for his former teammate and good friend Gerrit Cole in his arbitration case against the Houston Astros.

Taillon was thrilled to see Cole not only won his hearing but was awarded a $13.5 million salary for the 2019 season, the highest total in arbitration history. The raise doubled Cole’s 2018 salary of $6.75 million.

“I was happy for him,” said Taillon, who serves as the Pirates’ MLBPA player representative. “Gerrit obviously is extremely interested in the process and how arbitration works and stuff. I knew he was committed to going into his case and, you know Gerrit, he’s going to help his own cause and be involved in the process so I know he put a lot of time into it. He’s worked his tail off, and he’s worth every dollar. Look at the year he had last year.”

Cole, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft by the Pirates, was 15-5 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and MLB-leading 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings with the Astros. The Pirates traded Cole to Houston in January 2018 in exchange for pitchers Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz, third baseman Colin Moran and minor-league outfielder Jason Martin.

Taillon also was interested to see that 25-year-old right-hander Aaron Nola agreed to a four-year, $45 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Phillies, which includes a club option for 2023.

The pitchers’ contracts are of particular interest to the 27-year-old Taillon, who went 14-10, with a 3.20 ERA and 1.178 WHIP last season and becomes arbitration-eligible next year. Taillon is set to make just above the MLB minimum at $575,000 this season, but said he has yet to receive an offer to extend his contract from the Pirates.

“We haven’t talked about anything,” Taillon said.

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