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Pirates regret low contract offer to pitcher Gerrit Cole

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Despite going to the MLB All-Star game in his third season and finishing fourth in Cy Young Award voting with a 19-8 record and 2.60 ERA, Cole just received a $7,000 raise.

Cole made $531,000 last season, but also got a $10,000 All-Star bonus, and when the team offered him $541,000 this season, they forgot about last year's All-Star bonus.

The 25-year-old expressed his disappointment with the contract, claiming the Pirates threatened to give him the $507,000 league minimum if he did not agree.

Huntington responded on Sunday, conceding: "We made a mistake in the process.

"Gerrit's base salary a year ago plus his bonus took him above our scale. We initially did not incorporate the bonus that he earned last year for making the All-Star team. We made that adjustment, took him above our scale.

"Gerrit agreed. Unhappy with that. We understand that, we can empathize with him. At the same time there is a system in place that is negotiated by the union and by Major League Baseball."

Huntington added: "As with most organizations, renewals come with an amount less than the last offer.

"We're cognizant of what other teams have done, and we're cognizant that there are other teams that come in well below where we are on a consistent basis.

"We're cognizant that other teams have made exceptions. It's always easy to grab one side of the argument and run with it, especially when that side of the argument is made very public. We believe that we want to treat our players consistently across the board."

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