Gerrit Cole is heading to Houston after all.
Three days after reports said Cole was on the verge of being traded to the Astros before later reports said a deal didn’t happen, the two teams did agree on a trade
Yahoo’s Tim Brown reports that Cole is heading to the Astros, while the Pittsburgh Pirates are receiving Joe Musgrove and Colin Moran in return.
Hearing Pirates and Astros have a trade. Sources say Musgrove and Moran to Pitt for Gerrit Cole.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) January 13, 2018
The Astros made no secret that they wanted an ace to add to their staff. They are making preparations to potentially lose Dallas Keuchel after the 2018 season in free agency. But for the upcoming season, they will now have Cole to go along with Keuchel and Justin Verlander, enhancing their rotation and chances of repeating as champs.
Cole, 27, is coming off a down season in which he posted a career-worst 4.26 ERA, but he is under team control for two more seasons. The former No. 1 overall pick is 59-42 with a 3.50 ERA during his career.
Musgrove, 25, is a right-handed pitcher who served as both a starter and reliever last season. He has a 4.52 career ERA in 171.1 innings. Moran, 23, is a former No. 6 overall pick. He has batted .206 in 34 career at-bats. His path in Houston was being blocked by Alex Bregman.
