MLB Free Agents: Three landing spots for Gerrit Cole
Gerrit Cole is one of the biggest MLB free agents this off-season. While most teams won’t be able to pay him close to $300 million, these three teams might.
Gerrit Cole was a good but not great starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates but then the Houston Astros grabbed him and made him into the best starter in the game.
He is now set up to earn the most money ever by a starting pitcher after giving Justin Verlander a run for his money for the 2019 American League Cy Young award. He was so anxious to become one of baseball’s best MLB free agents that right after the Houston Astros were eliminated from the World Series, he put on his Scott Boras hat for his media session after the game.
So, for this exercise we are taking the Houston Astros out of the running for Cole, as I don’t think there is a big chance that he will return, especially after he didn’t even get out of the bullpen in a winner take all Game 7 of the World Series, despite being the best pitcher on the roster.
As I mentioned, Cole will command a whole lot of money, as his agent is Scott Boras who likes to drag things out until shortly before Spring Training in hopes to drive up the price.
So, with that said there will be teams that might be in the running for Cole early in the bidding like the Houston Astros, but then deep-pocket teams are the ones that will remain deep into the winter as the price gets more clear. The San Francisco Giants are a team that should be in the running but they aren’t ready to win next year, so I don’t think they are going to try hard enough to land Cole.
Without further ado here are the top three suitors from third to first for the hottest player on the market.
MLB Free Agents: 3 landing spots for Gerrit Cole
Suitor #3: Los Angeles Dodgers
This might come as a surprise to some, but I think the Dodgers should have a pretty good shot at landing Gerrit Cole.
They have money to spend and figure to be in on Gerrit Cole and/or Anthony Rendon so I would assume they will keep that stance.
As of right now, they do need starting pitching, and Cole fits that bill. Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill are both hitting the markets this winter as MLB free agents, and although Hill is likely to stay, as he is aging and won’t have a big market, Ryu is a finalist for the National League Cy Young award and he started for the NL in this year’s All-Star Game in Cleveland, so there will be some teams that could be willing to outbid the Dodgers for him. Some teams that could be willing to do so are the Texas Rangers and the Minnesota Twins.
Clayton Kershaw is pretty good in the regular season but even he has recognized that he is not a good pitcher in the postseason. Just one example of that is the back-to-back home runs that he gave up to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto that tied Game 5 of the NLDS and the Dodgers season would end later in the night by Howie Kendrick.
Gerrit Cole has actually proved that he can pitch in the postseason, and we know the Dodgers have the money to go get a frontline starter in free agency and I don’t see Strasburg as someone who would want to come to the rival city of San Diego.
The next suitor is a team that hasn’t won it all in a decade.
MLB Free Agents: 3 landing spots for Gerrit Cole
Suitor #2: New York Yankees
Brian Cashman made it clear that he did not pass on Gerrit Cole when he had the opportunity to trade for him. It was the Pirates that passed on the Yankees prospects.
Instead, the Pirates liked the Astros deal better and the rest is history.
But Brin Cashman has the opportunity to go get the guy that the fan base is screaming for, which just happens to be one of the missing pieces in a World Series team.
The Yankees are in dire of need of a frontline starting pitcher, as they are not going to win a World Series when they have no reliable starting pitching past James Paxton and maybe Masahiro Tanaka.
Adding Gerrit Cole would not just take him away from the team that eliminated the previous postseason in the ALCS, but it would make them the favorites in the American League.
They might be favorites in the MLB actually.
That is how much weight is on Brian Cashman’s shoulders. if he really wants to get another ring–his first since 2009– he is going to have to convince Gerrit Cole to live on the other side of the country from his hometown but more importantly convince owner Hal Steinbrenner to give Cole the money he wants.
The #1 suitor is near his hometown and is the favorite to land him right now.
MLB Free Agents: 3 landing spots for Gerrit Cole
Suitor #1: Los Angeles Angels
The Angels didn’t sign Mike Trout to be the only reason why Angels fans want to attend games in the summertime. They did it to build around him with pieces that will propel them past the Houston Astros.
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And Gerrit Cole is more than a pretty good piece.
The Angels already weren’t very deep in starting pitching after Garrett Richards didn’t pan out after elbow injuries (he left to sign a two-year deal with the San Diego Padres) and the untimely death of Tyler Skaggs certainly did not help either.
So, adding an ace to lead the staff is just that more important for Billy Eppler and co because Angels fans have been waiting the entirety of Mike Trout’s career to win at least one postseason game.
I know for a fact that Joe Maddon didn’t pass on the Padres’ job to come to the Angels and not make the postseason. He is coming from the Cubs where he won a World Series in 2016, and you bet he has the same expectations for the Angels.
But they aren’t going to reach their goal without Gerrit Cole.
And Cole fits in, as he and his family went to Angels games when he was a kid and his parents still go to Angels games now, so I don’t see how Cole wouldn’t want to sign with the Angels over a team like the Yankees or the Dodgers, as long as they offer him a contract in the ballpark of the two aforementioned teams.
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Adding Cole is still not going to make them a favorite to beat the Astros for the division, as they still have too many holes as an overall team but it would make them a favorite to sneak into a Wild Card spot.