I think fans are much higher on Cole than baseball people due to his pedigree as a legit #1 overall pick, but I'm still shocked the price is this low. He doesn't pitch up to his Ace stuff but he's still relatively young and he still has Ace stuff with room to improve. Usually I find Ludnow's trades to be fair for both sides but this trade looks more like a Morey deal.
Really high on Moran, and we will miss Musgrove, but absolutely the right choice. Moran didn't have a spot in 2018 and was going to compete with White in 2019 for a spot. Question is, assuming we don't deal McHugh, who goes to the pen if all 6 are healthy? To think Pirates fans thought they could get Whitley.
Yep. Cole, like Verlander, is an incredibly talented guy who had not been pitching up to his talent level when we traded for him. Hopefully Cole turns it up just like Verlander did and I suspect he will... hope so anyway. Considering how long Cole's name had been thrown around as a trade target and what the Pirates actually got in return, I think it's clear his value was not nearly as high as some had speculated. I'll be interested to see how Musgrove, Moran, and Feliz pan out given an extended chance to play with little pressure.
It’s a fairer trade than it seems, but for Houston to get a guy with Coles Cy Young credentials/upside without giving up Tucker, Whitley, Martes, or Fisher is unbelievable. They still have payroll flexibility and prospects to go after a long term catcher, a bat for LF, or a closer if they want to, but even if they don’t do anything else (except trade McHugh for prospects) this team is absolutely stacked to a legendary degree.
What if Muskgrove ends up better than Cole? I hate losing the guy with Moran on top of that but I understand the gamble.
Anything is possible, there has to be some upside for the Pirates. Still, Musgrove looked quite hittable in the rotation.
But was pretty dominant in relief and relief is where we struggled the most. I think it was a pretty good trade off though and not a steal as a lot are saying.
Then he ends up better. Musgrove wasn't going to be in our rotation in 2018, which would have made it difficult for him to ever become a starter again. At least he probably gets another chance with the Pirates.
This is an absolute FLEECING of the Pirates. My goodness. Cole is not great, but the Astros gave up basically nothing here. Wow.
So, if he's a relief pitcher... how does he somehow end up better than Cole? Even if he has a resurgence as a starter... it wasn't going to be here. And in the end, whenever you can trade a projected relief pitcher for a 200 IP starter... you would be foolish to think twice about that deal.
I think it's pretty clear at this point the Adams/Fraiser trade people said the Pirates rejected was clearly BS. The Astros return isn't bad. If this was Moran/Feliz/Musgrove of 1-2 years ago in fact people might've said the Pirates got a lot in return. But Moran and Musgrove have really floundered at the big league level and Musgrove seems to have that third turn through the order issue. So in essence the Pirates are counting on post prospect hype buy-low.
He would have been in the relief role for sure but possibly gaining starter status again if another falters. Do you discount the importance of a great reliever over a good starting pitcher? I’m not saying that’s what will happen, just saying. Like I said I’m happy with the deal.
You didn't say you liked it either. Notice every other post is positive or at least balanced. Yours was just a complaint. Btw it's LOSING not loosing.
