Houston Astros: Gerrit Cole officially signs with the club
By Dan Shedd
In another blockbuster trade, the Houston Astros strengthened their starting rotation with one of baseball’s brightest stars.
Like the last minute trade that sent Justin Verlander from Detroit to Houston, the trade for Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole sent shockwaves through Major League Baseball also sent a clear message, the Houston Astros are going after more than one World Series title.
The Astros bid adieu to Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran, Michael Feliz and Justin Martin.
Cole was officially introduced at a press conference today at Minute Maid Park in Houston:
Watch as Gerrit Cole is introduced live from Houston. https://t.co/DEplA88rTH
— Houston Astros (@astros) January 17, 2018
Adam Wexler of KPRC-TV said that Gerrit is excited to apart of the defending World Series Champions and is looking forward to working with fellow veterans Brian McCann and Justin Verlander.
Gerrit was also very excited that the Astros are willing to provide the resources necessary to put a winning product on the field.
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Astros manager A.J. Hinch said the addition of Cole makes the Astros starting rotation that much more dangerous.
According to Brooks Baseball, Cole relies on a four-seam fastball, which tops out at 90 mph, an 89-mph slider, an 81-mph curve and a 89-mph change up.
Cole has quite the career in Pittsburgh lately, in 2015, he went 19-8, with a 2.60 ERA which was good enough for the NL Cy Young award. in 2016, he went 7-10 but still had a pretty good ERA of 3.88. In 2017, he had a 12-12 record with a 4.26 ERA.
It’s not just Astros fans that are excited about the future of the team with Cole, his new teammates took to Twitter to show their excitement as well.
Verlander:
Going for it. #BackToBack
— Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander) January 14, 2018
Alex Bregman:
Dallas Keuchel:
#STILLSTACKED https://t.co/8a5f5iOLsv
— Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) January 14, 2018
The bottom line is that Cole is a premium pitcher despite the showings in record and ERA. He should help the Astros’ already stellar starting rotation of Keuchel and Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr.
Next: Projecting how many wins the Astros will get in 2018
I am looking forward to seeing what Cole brings to the table and I’m excited that Houston brought in a guy who is ready to win championships and willing to help in any way he can.
Go Astros!