The Astros won the World Series in 2017, and now they’ll also have the benefit of a full season of Justin Verlander after acquiring him in August. Those two pieces of information apparently aren’t enough to stop them from considering further upgrades, as of Monday, they were tied to both Yu Darvish and Gerrit Cole.
The Astros are thinking about Gerrit Cole or Yu Darvish
Tuesday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at the 2017 World Champions and possible rotation upgrades.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images
The Astros’ owner, Jim Crane, said that his team is looking for a “high-end starter,” and while he didn’t name names, he did say that said starter could come through a trade or free agency. Darvish is the free agent starter Houston has been mentioned alongside the most, and there are only so many “high-end” pitchers on the free agent market.
The Cole rumor is more explicit in terms of names, with Jeff Passan reporting the Pirates and Astros have discussed him as well as prospects Derek Fisher, Kyle Tucker, and Forrest Whitley. Cole actually hasn’t been a high-end starter except for in one season of his career, in 2015 when he threw 208 innings with a 2.60 ERA: in the last two seasons, Cole has produced a 103 ERA+ — just above league-average — and thrown 319 innings.
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Cole won’t be a free agent until 2020, though, and if he can regain at least some of the form that made him a Cy Young candidate in 2015, then the Astros’ rotation is going to be absurd. If the prospect price is right, this move could make a lot of sense. However, it might be less risky to just spend the money on Darvish, who, in spite of some ups and downs in 2017 thanks to tipping pitches — including against the Astros in the World Series — has the longer track record of success, and won’t cost Houston any of their kids.
Whether it’s Dallas Keuchel, Verlander, and Cole or Keuchel, Verlander, and Darvish at the top of the Astros’ rotation in 2018, they’re going to have a formidable group. And with the Angels suddenly relevant once more, and the Mariners seemingly always a couple of good breaks away from competing (I know, I know), upgrading the rotation makes a lot of sense for Houston.
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