The Pirates receive four players from the Astros for pitcher Gerrit Cole:
The Pirates agreed Saturday to a trade that will send right-hander Gerrit Cole, their opening-day starter and the workhorse of their rotation, to the Houston Astros, according to sources. The news was first reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. In return, the Pirates will acquire a package centered on third baseman Colin Moran, right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove and right-hander Michael Feliz, according to a source.
With the move, the Pirates effectively waved goodbye to 2018 and signaled an attempt to reconstruct their roster with an eye toward contending the following season. They cashed in their most valuable chip in what could be the first in a series of trades, and did so earlier than in the past.
That last paragraph seems a bit overwrought. Cole did not have a great 2017, allowing 31 home runs after giving up just 36 HR in his first four seasons. The upcoming year does represent his seasonal age 27 season, so the Astros are getting Cole at his peak. He will be a solid addition to that rotation as Houston tries to repeat as World Series champions. If the Pirates trade Andrew McCutchen as well, then they will be in full rebuild.
Elizabeth Bloom offers her analysis of the four players acquired:
Moran, Musgrove and Feliz are all major-league ready. During a conference call with reporters, general manager Neal Huntington suggested that Moran could become the Pirates’ starting third baseman, Musgrove will have a chance to crack the rotation, and Feliz could take on a role as a “high-leverage reliever.” Together, the Pirates control the contracts of those three players for 15 years, as they don’t reach free agency until 2022-2024.
“It’s the balance of immediate and moderate and longer-term…we felt this was the right move to get these players that are major-league ready with 15 years contribution combined,” Huntington said.
Jesse Martin is the fourth player. Martin is young and only played a short time at AA. His batting numbers are decent, but he’s unlikely to be a star. Moran is older, as he will play 2018 as a 25 year old, but with similar numbers to Martin. Musgrove’s strength is limiting walks. but he puts the ball over the plate and it leaves the yard. Feliz’s strength is his strike out numbers, but his walks and home runs allowed are weak.
The Pirates are very good at fixing pitchers. I suspect the most value from this trade will from the the two hurlers.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2D8oIea
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