Pirates Sign Gerrit Cole and Josh Bell

Posted by on August 16, 2011 | 11 Comments

Photo Courtesy of UCLA Athletics

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed first overall pick Gerrit Cole, and second round pick Josh Bell, according to Jon Heyman (Cole, Bell).

Cole will get $8 M, and it’s a minor league deal, per Dejan Kovacevic.  The bonus is the highest in draft history, topping the $7.5 M bonus that Stephen Strasburg received.  It’s also a record for the Pirates.

Josh Bell gets $5 M.  That’s the fourth biggest bonus given out by the Pirates, behind Cole, Jameson Taillon, and Pedro Alvarez.

The two bonuses bring the Pirates’ total spending to just under $16.5 M, which is a draft record.  That doesn’t include unannounced bonuses, which will bring the total to over $17 M.

The Pirates have officially announced each move.  The draft pick signing tracker is updated with the moves.

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About Tim Williams

Tim is the owner and editor in chief of Pirates Prospects. He started the site in January 2009, and turned it into his full time job during the 2011 season. Prior to starting Pirates Prospects, Tim worked with AccuScore.com, providing MLB, NHL, and NFL coverage to various national media outlets, including ESPN Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, and the Wall Street Journal. He also writes the annual Prospect Guide, which is sold through the site. Tim moved to Bradenton in 2013, and will be providing live coverage all year of the Bradenton Marauders, GCL Pirates, instructs, mini camp, Spring Training, and lunches at Mixon's Fruit Farms.
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11 Responses

  1. Ian Rothermund
    August 16, 2011 at 4:46 am

    Not too shabby of a draft.  Maybe this just bought N.H. another year of fans’ animosity.

    • Anonymous
      August 16, 2011 at 12:19 pm

      Not to mention the eye-rolling and head-shaking of the pundits and the denizens of the P-G Asylum who will moan “Same old cheap Pirates” when the club doesn’t go all-in on some free agent.

      • Ian Rothermund
        August 16, 2011 at 3:35 pm

        haha, exactly, just because they won’t pay 40-50% over market value for maybe, possibly one free agent, that could only pose a relative improvement of 5-10 games, when they’d need to win 20 to make the playoffs.

  2. VincentR
    August 16, 2011 at 4:47 am

    What a great day for the Pirates. The Bell signing shows once again this team is serious.

  3. F Lang
    August 16, 2011 at 4:48 am

    I think the system is finally rebuilt!

  4. Anonymous
    August 16, 2011 at 4:48 am

    Unbelievable. Just… unbelievable.

  5. Evan Gross
    August 16, 2011 at 5:37 am

    any update on watts

  6. Anonymous
    August 16, 2011 at 10:58 am

    While very happy they signed both Cole and Bell, 5M for a mid-1st round talent (Bell) is a lot of money. Lots of upside though, I’m looking forward to seeing him progress over the next few years.

  7. Jacob J
    August 16, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    Woop Woop!
    What a coup!
    Great news to wake up to today.

  8. Anonymous
    August 16, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    WOW. just WOW – never thought we would get Bell.  The Bucs are now a Big League Organization.