The Pirates offered a contract Friday to every unsigned player on their 40-man roster, including four arbitration-eligible players.
Gerrit Cole, Felipe Rivero, George Kontos and Jordy Mercer were all tendered contracts before Friday’s 8 p.m. deadline, meaning the team is committed to going through the arbitration process with them.
Mercer was the only player in danger of being non-tendered. The 31-year-old shortstop had a .326 on-base percentage and a .406 slugging percentage, and hit 14 home runs while batting .255. But he has hit below league average in each of the past four seasons and combined for minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved, according to Baseball Info Solutions, in the past two seasons.