Pirate may extend Jordy Mercer but what could it mean?

The guys at Rum Bunter reported yesterday that the Pirates were discussing an extension with shortstop Jordy Mercer. This news was quickly confirmed by Rob Biertempfel. The talks are reportedly in the early stages with no real numbers out there, but both sides seem to be interested. This deal could be accelerated in spring training, similar to the Harrison and Polanco extensions the last few years. 

Jordy Mercer has never been a player that earns much in arbitration because he isn't considered anywhere close to being a great player, which is fine. However, he is above average defensively and is coming off his best season with the bat. Overall, Jordy Mercer is a very serviceable or even a solid player, and we can't overstate the importance of that at the shortstop position in the MLB. 

A Jordy Mercer extension would likely buy out his remaining arbitration years plus probably one more year and an option or two, based on the Pirates normal extension formula. It could wind up as a 3 year deal with 1 or 2 club options, which would make sense given how they've handled previous extensions. Now, it's always hard to come up with a money figure, but if I had to guess, a 3 year, $17M figure with an option or two set at $7-8M each may make sense, though it could be slightly higher or lower. 

Now, there would be some other dominoes that could fall if Jordy Mercer is extended. One of these dominoes is the Quintana trade. One guy that has likely been discussed extensively in this trade is top shortstop prospect Kevin Newman. Newman was drafted in the first round of the 2015 and has not slowed down. The projection for him is that he could be in the majors as early as late 2017 to mid-2018 season. However, if they extend Mercer through 2019 or 2020, they won't have an immediate need for Newman and could make him expendable, and it could pave the way for the arrival of the other Pirates high-end shortstop prospect Cole Tucker. Of course, the trade of Kevin Newman in a deal for Quintana would probably come before the Mercer extension, but if they are confident they can extend Mercer, they'll deal Newman.

In the end, we know that Jordy Mercer isn't a world-beater and likely never will be. However, he is a solid major league player with an average bat at worst and above-average defense for a position where defense is much more important than offense. If Pirates can lock Jordy Mercer into a value-based extension that won't kill them in payroll, which it shouldn't, I say it'd be a good move for a guy like him that you know will be consistent and solid. Also if it gives them the flexibility to deal a guy like Newman to help get a frontline starter like Quintana, there's even more incentive there. Overall, I could certainly see an extension of Mercer, especially if Kevin Newman is traded.