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The Pittsburgh Pirates should trade Gerrit Cole to the Houston Astros
By Marty Leap
The Pittsburgh Pirates should trade their ace to the Houston Astros, but why?
One of the most talked about names in all of Major League Baseball this off-season has been Pirate ace Gerrit Cole. The 27-year-old Cole is coming off a down season, however, he remains one of the best starting pitchers in baseball and has been highly sought after in trade talks this off-season.
The goal of Neal Huntington is to make the Pittsburgh Pirates a postseason team once again. As odd as it may sound the quickest way for him to do this is to trade Gerrit Cole, Andrew McCutchen, and Josh Harrison. And when it comes to Cole, there is one team in particular that Huntington needs to work out a deal with.
Teams such as the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers have all been tied to Cole this off-season. On Monday, a new team entered the Cole rumors. This team is the team that Neal Huntington and the Pirates should trade Gerrit Cole to. Which team is this? The Houston Astros.
The defending World Series Champions have very few holes. However, they could use another frontline starting pitcher to put with Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander. Furthermore, Keuchel is a free agent after the 2018 season which will open up a hole at the top of their rotation. For these reasons, Gerrit Cole appears to be a perfect fit for the Astros.
The reason the Pirates should trade Cole to Houston though is the amount of high-end young talent the Astros have. There may not be a team in baseball that has a better combination of prospect and young, controllable talent than the Houston Astros do. This is why the Pirates should trade Cole to the Astros.
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When looking at a potential return from the Astros for Gerrit Cole, it is tough to envision a trade happening unless the Pirates get at least one of, if not both, outfield prospect Kyle Tucker and/or starting pitcher prospect Forrest Whitley.
To tackle Whitley first, he has been flat out dominant in the minor leagues. Last season he pitched at Low-A, High-A, and Double-A. The former first round pick watched his strikeout rate rise at each level as it was 13.01 K/9 at Low-A, 14.36 K/9 at High-A, and 15.95 K/9 at Double-A. His FIP also decreased at each level dropping from 2.66, to 2.06, and then to 1.68.
As for Kyle Tucker, he is one of the top-20 prospects in all of baseball and would give the Pirates great flexibility. After posting a .410 wOBA and a 159 wRC+ at High-A and a .368 wOBA and a 129 wRC+ at Double-A, Tucker is still at least a year away from the Major Leagues. However, he has all the tools to be an elite hitter and adding Tucker would also allow the Pirates to use someone like Austin Meadows or Gregory Polanco as trade bait to add young pieces elsewhere.
This possibility is an overlooked but important part of any potential Cole trade. Depending on what the Pirates get in return for Gerrit Cole, or anyone who might be traded between now and Spring Training, it creates opportunities for the Pirates to trade other young players/prospects of their own to address other needs the team has.
The Astros also have a plethora of other young high-end talents the Pirates could acquire in a Gerrit Cole trade. Pitchers David Paulino and Francis Martes would both be able to join Jameson Taillon at the top of the Pirate rotation for the foreseeable future. Young third baseman Colin Moran (133 wRC+ at Triple-A in 2017, 223 wRC+ in the Majors) could fix the hole at third base in a hurry.
Pitching prospects J.B. Bukauskas, Cionel Perez, and Rogelio Armenteros are all plus arms that could be included in a trade as well.
If Neal Huntington trades Gerrit Cole he will want a huge package of young talent in return. There are very few teams that can pay the asking price Huntington will have and the Houston Astros are one of those teams.
Next: 2018 draft preview: Nick Madrigal
Trading Gerrit Cole would indicate the start of a rebuild by the Pittsburgh Pirates. If Cole is traded, then an Andrew McCutchen trade most likely becomes a question of when not if. However, if trades of players like Cole and McCutchen are done properly this can be a quick rebuild by Neal Huntington and the Pirates.
Adding young talent to the team’s young core of players like Felipe Rivero, Jameson Taillon, Josh Bell, Starling Marte, and Trevor Williams could make the Pirates a postseason team again in 2019 or 2020. Trading Gerrit Cole to the Houston Astros would net the Pirates this type of young talent, and that is why the Bucs should trade him to the Astros.