Pittsburgh Pirates: Another Update on the Gerrit Cole Trade Saga

Another day and another Pittsburgh Pirates Gerrit Cole rumor.  This time the update is coming from ESPN baseball writer Jerry Crasnick.  Here is the latest:

The ongoing saga of trade speculation surrounding Gerrit Cole has been pretty straightforward.  Every day there are multiple reports about how the talks between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees are going.  The two days ago there were reports that were mixed.  Jim Bowden of the Athletic reported that the two sides were close to a deal that would not include Yankees top prospect Gleyber Torres.  Then, reports out of New York suggested that the two sides were not close to a deal.  So which is it?  Is a deal going to get done between the Yankees and Buccos?

Well according to the most recent rumors a deal is still on hold between the two sides.  In fact, ESPN MLB writer Jerry Crasnick thinks that the Pittsburgh Pirates might be looking to other teams to make a deal.  Here is a tweet from Crasnick from yesterday:

In a way, this is not that surprising.  The first rumor in the offseason regarding Cole was that the Minnesota Twins had interest in him.  Other teams that reportedly have shown interest in Cole are the Rangers, Brewers, and Orioles. Also, one must consider that almost any team in playoff contention would have interest in the big right hander.  Teams like the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Astros would obviously have interest.  All three are World Series contenders for the foreseeable future, and have the assets to acquire a controllable pitcher.

Next: Pirates and Groundballs

So, at this point, it does not seem likely a deal will be completed before Christmas.  Just a few days ago reports were that the Pirates and Yankees would likely complete a deal before the holiday.  Now it seems as if the Pittsburgh Pirates might be looking to get a more suitable package from another team.  However, could the Pittsburgh Pirates be trying to just create leverage against the Yankees to get a deal done?  The Yankees are still the team that has the best farm system out off all the teams that are listed on here.  So they would most likely be the best team to deal with.  Check back tomorrow as there will likely be another update in this ongoing story.