To the victors go the spoils, with the defending World Series champion Houston Astros reportedly agreeing to a trade for Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole. New of the trade was first reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Astros acquire Gerrit Cole from Pirates
4-for-1 swap lands former No. 1 overall pick in Houston.
Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
The package going to Pittsburgh is led by pitcher Joe Musgrove and infielder Colin Moran. Also headed to the Pirates are a pair of minor leaguers — pitcher Michael Feliz and outfielder Jason Martin.
Cole, now 27, had a down year in 2017 with a 4.26 ERA in 33 starts, but he struck out 196 batters in 203 innings. He has a career 3.50 ERA in 127 starts with 734 strikeouts in 782⅓ innings in parts of five seasons. He made $3.75 million in 2017 and avoided salary arbitration on Friday with a $6.75 million deal for 2018.
The right-hander has two more seasons before qualifying for free agency.
“Trading Gerrit Cole was not an easy decision,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement released by the team. “We are very appreciative for what Gerrit has done for our team and organization, especially his important role on the 2013-15 playoff teams.
“Acquiring these four quality young players, three of whom we project to be an important part of our 2018 team, with many years of potential contribution, is an important step for us as we work toward bringing playoff baseball back to our fans.”
The addition of Cole adds to an already impressive starting rotation for Houston, one that is headed by Cy Young Award winners Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel and also includes Charlie Morton plus one of Lance McCullers and Brad Peacock.
Verlander, acquired last Aug. 31 from Detroit, is under contract for two more seasons while both Keuchel and Morton will be free agents after 2018.
Houston won 101 games in 2017 and the first championship in franchise history, outlasting the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fall classic in seven games. The Astros’ starting staff was third in the American League with a 4.03 ERA last year and ranked fifth with 899⅔ innings, averaging 5.55 per start.
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