Houston Astros: What team needs to trade to get Gerrit Cole

The Houston Astros are just about at the pinnacle of going right over the top. They just need one more player or two to ensure this World Series run everybody’s talking about goes through without a hitch.

Yes, I know it’s early but the July 31st trade deadline will be here before you know it and it’s time to start thinking about the guys the Houston Astros can trade for. It’s no secret that this team needs reinforcements in regard to starting pitching. Outside of Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr., the shaky bottom-portion of the rotation consisting of Charlie Morton, Mike Fiers and Joe Musgrove has some concerns.

Especially Fiers. He continues to be the proverbial Santa Claus, giving up home runs as if they were toys in his sleigh were if one reaches high enough, they’ll be able to get one. I’m sure he’s trying a new strategy to combat the issues that he’s had but to no avail.

Fiers did improve somewhat last night, giving up one homer but allowed four earned runs and 10 hits. He also recorded only two strikeouts. All that mess he put out last night, equated to his ERA inflating to 5.40 which is largely unacceptable for a starting major league pitcher. I just think we’re not using Fiers where his strength is, the bullpen. I think he could still flourish there.

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But Morton and Musgrove have not been terrible but just okay. I’m still reserving judgement on Joe as he’s still learning the nuances of being a major-league pitcher. He’ll be fine and so will Morton in most regards as he does have a nice curveball in his stable.

But with such alarming play in that part of the rotation, it’s highly-necessitated that the Houston Astros make a move for a starting pitcher before the deadline. Peter Gammons dropped a nugget recently about his prediction that starting pitcher Gerrit Cole will either be with the Houston Astros or New York Yankees come mid-summer. That’s a terrific assertion as it’s quite plausible.

The 26-year-old one-time All-Star has been pretty darn good this season. He’s boasting a solid 3.36 ERA, tossing 52 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP through 61.2 innings pitched. If we could have him in our rotation, just those numbers alone with make us unstoppable and he has an incredible curveball to boot, something I know the Astros look at when bringing in pitching talent.

So who should we trade for Cole? The Pittsburgh Pirates are not going to want any of our current players as they’re likely not looking to win now if they’re willing to part with him. They’re going to want top prospects and with the Astros’ farm, that’s no problem as a reputable reputation of it has been made over the years. I propose that we trade Francis Martes and Kyle Tucker to swap for Cole. The Pirates may ask about A.J. Reed and Derek Fisher but I don’t we’ll have to part with those guys unless absolutely necessary.

Next: Lance McCullers Jr. and his terrific curveball

Ranked No. 17 and No. 30 respectively on MLB.com’s top prospects list, Martes and Tucker would be sizable assets to package in the such a deal. I think that’s something they’ll definitely bite on and they could send us back a guy like Cole Tucker or Elias Diaz to put back in our farm.

This a shot in the dark but I honestly think a viable deal can be made with the Pirates to get one the league’s best pitching talents. We need the depth and he would be player to push us over the top so let’s get it done Jeff Luhnow!

I’ll be patiently waiting to write about it when it happens.

Go Astros.

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