Pirates' Jordy Mercer: Avoids arbitration with Pirates

Mercer and the Pirates avoided arbitration Friday and settled on a one-year, $4.325 million deal, Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball reports.

Analysis:

Mercer posted a .256/.328/.374 line that was well within his career norms in 2016, and was rewarded with a raise of more than $2 million. He's on track to hit free agency before the 2019 season at the age of 32.