If you're in charge, do you let Gerrit Cole walk or pay him?

Lets just all pray he goes anywhere BUT the Angels. He'll get 7/280

 

Unfortunately Boras is his agent, so it's probably literally less than 1% chance given his performance this year and in the playoffs.

He gone.

 

He gone. Gone. Gone!

 

But he's still here for at least one more start.

 

Who are the prospective replacements? I mean you aren't going to find someone as good or better, but someone that is good enough or someone you can work with as the Astros seem to have done over the past few seasons. Its not my money I say pay him, but if he doesn't want to play here, what can we get for that money?

 

Call me crazy, but Cole will resign here. 8/240 isn’t getting it done. That’ll be the baseline offer from every big market team, hence why I think it’ll take around 270 to ink him. I think he takes a semi discount to return to HOU, and we sign him for 8y/265 with an opt out after year 2 or 3, with heavy front loading before the opt out.

 

<insert dumb&dumber pic>

 

Angels will still suck. Let’s hope he doesn’t go to the Yankees because that’s who we will see every year when it matters.

 

McCullers, Whitley, anyone else on the farm. Another Miley from off the scrap heap. Maybe McHugh will put it together? Money's going to Springer, Bregman, and probably Correa if he stays.

I want to keep him too.

 

Angels would be my preferred destination. With Trout and Cole, they'll have so much money locked up and holes everywhere on the team. I wouldn't be overly concerned about them being a major playoff contender anytime soon. He'd be much more of a problem going to the Dodgers or Yankees or other teams that are already on the cusp.

 

2nd tier free agent options:
Jake Odorizzi
Zach Wheeler
Madison Bumgarner
Kyle Gibson
Cole Hamels
Dallas Keuchel
Rick Porcello

3rd tier free agent options:
Homer Bailey
Gio Gonzalez
Tanner Roark
Rich Hill
Wade Miley
Michael Wacha
Alex Wood
Jordan Lyles

4th tier free agent options:
Brett Anderson
Andrew Cashner
Drew Pomeranz

trade options:
Jon Gray
Robbie Ray
Danny Duffy
Dylan Bundy
Daniel Norris
Matt Boyd
Corey Kluber
Alex Cobb
Chris Archer

 

Yes, Cole will be very expensive. However, you don’t let the best pitcher in baseball leave your organization. He just threw seven shutout innings in the playoffs at Yankee Stadium against one of the best lineups in baseball. Those guys don’t grow on trees, and they are foundational pieces to winning teams.

 

I don’t think we’ll get him back but I know Crane and the front office have the calculators out every time they watch him. They’ll put the effort in to try.

 

It’d be really nice to know if we are having regular season ball or playoff ball. If it’s playoff ball Madbum is a lot more interesting to me. Otherwise give me Wheeler I guess? Or a trade for Archer (pittsburg would be scared to do that obviously).

 

Looking at Luhnow’s track record, these are the guys I would link to the Astros this offseason: Wheeler, Bumgarner, Porcello, Wood, Wacha, Lyles, Cashner, Pomeranz. What’s crazy is that those 8 guys combined would still cost less in total contract value than Cole.

I also could see them circling back to Arizona for Robbie Ray.

 

36-5 since he got here.

DD

 

Yeah ours is

 

Are you omitting his five losses this year or his five losses last year?