LAKELAND, Fla. -- When shortstop Jordy Mercer signed a one-year contract with the Tigers in December, he expected that 2019 would be his first MLB season in the middle infield without second baseman Josh Harrison after seven seasons together with the Pirates.
“More than likely, I figured we would go our separate ways,” Mercer said on Thursday. “And hopefully we’d meet again.”
But their roads will connect again much sooner than expected after Harrison agreed to a one-year contract with the Tigers on Wednesday, according to an MLB.com source.
Manager Ron Gardenhire said Mercer was probably a “second agent” and helped steer Harrison to Detroit.
“He kind of fell in our lap,” Gardenhire said. “There are a lot of good guys out there looking for jobs. He was one of them. [Jordy] probably helped with the situation, too.”
Mercer and Harrison met during the summer in 2009, when the Pirates acquired Harrison in a trade with the Cubs. Harrison was assigned to Class A Lynchburg and Mercer offered him a place to stay.
“I came up to him and said, ‘Do you need a place to live?'” Mercer said. “And he said, ‘I don’t have any place right now,’ and I told him we’ve got a pull-out couch you can use until you find something.
“He ended up staying there the whole year.”
The two became friends during that season as Lynchburg won the Carolina League, and their friendship continued to grow as they moved up in the Pirates' organization together.
With Harrison still unsigned in February, Mercer started lobbying for the two-time All-Star to join him with the Tigers.
“He said ‘I’m still waiting, I’m trying to figure out the best spot, and I’m saying, ‘Well I’m over here [in Detroit] now so come on, let’s go,'” Mercer said. “I didn’t think it would really happen, but it happened. He’s fired up and I’m fired up.”
Mercer knew what Harrison could bring to a clubhouse from their time together in Pittsburgh, and Mercer said the Tigers will benefit greatly from the knowledge and energy he brings to the ballpark every day.
“I call him a little spark plug because he’s only ‘ye tall [5-foot-8], “Mercer said. “He’s the type of guy that can make a play in the field or at the batter box that can really turn the game around.”
Harrison’s best seasons came in 2014 -- when he batted .315 with a. .490 slugging percentage, 13 home runs, 38 doubles and 52 RBIs, and he finished ninth in the National League MVP Award voting. In 2017, Harrison made his second All-Star appearance and he had a slash line of .272/.339/.432 with 16 home runs, 26 doubles and 47 RBIs.
Injuries, however, have slowed Harrison the previous two seasons. He broke his left hand with a month remaining in the 2017 season and he broke a bone in the same hand two weeks into the '18 campaign.
Mercer is expecting a healthy Harrison to return to the form he showed in 2017 before the first injury.
“He’s got hit there a few times,” Mercer said. “He’s had some tough times with that, but when he’s healthy and he’s right, he’s really good.”
Gardenhire believes Harrison will not only help the Tigers this season, but he could prove to be beneficial down the road as he spends time with the younger players in camp.
“He’s not only a player on the field but a teacher,” Gardenhire said. “When you see a guy from the other dugout and you have a pretty good idea what the guy is and isn’t, and we could see he brought a ton of energy, even in Spring Training games.
“He loves playing baseball. He’s a clubhouse leader and a positive person. The fans are going to love him.”