SAN DIEGO — Scott Boras mentioned two “mystery teams” that had reached out to him Tuesday to discuss Gerrit Cole, and the Astros appear to be one of them. Houston is contemplating if it should make a late attempt to retain Cole, a source told The Post. Such a signing would push the Astros over the second luxury tax threshold of $228 million and perhaps even the most punitive threshold of $248 million after never exceeding that threshold previously. But the Astros have concerns about what their rotation will look like moving forward. Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander remain elite, but will pitch at 36 and 37 next season. Forrest Whitley, once a heralded prospect, has taken steps backward. Houston likes Brandon Bielak and Cristian Javier as players who could potentially help them in 2020. Cole, along with Greinke and Verlander, would make it easier to break in inexpensive pieces in the back end of the rotation.
Is it safe to say Astros need to find a trading partner for Greinke, Brantley, and/or Reddick before even making an offer to re-sign Cole?
I think if Houston were to decide to sign a player to a $300M+ contract, all payroll considerations will have gone out the window. They might still try to find a taker for Reddick, but it would be to make room for Tucker, not to save money. I will be utterly shocked if Houston signs Gerrit Cole.
Crane needs to pony up and go into the Luxury Tax as an apology to Astros fans the cheating scandal but doubtful it's someone with Cole's price tag. Crane said they would make a run at Cole so they may just being throwing their hat in there to satisfy what Crane said but they likely wont be making a legitimate offer.
...or Cole? And btw they traded Cozart to the Giants with a 2019 prospect, i guess this also mean the Giants aren't that mistery team in play for Cole.
Crane doesn’t have to apologize to anyone, let alone Astros fans. Crane can also make a “legitimate” offer and still get blown out of the water. The two aren’t dispositive. My original projection was that we would offer 245–very reasonable all things considered, but that Cole would sign for 280+. If Astros fans have their panties in a wad because we’re not offering 300 when NYY et al offer 325, then I don’t know what to tell you. Go be a Yankees fan I suppose. Crane and Luhnow have done more than enough to build our trust. We were losing Cole all along, especially so if he’s set on top dollar or home. Edit, unrelated but:
