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Pirates Sign Gerrit Cole and Josh Bell

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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.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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