LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Gerrit Cole, along with Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison, is the most obvious trade candidate for the Pirates, but that doesn’t mean general manager Neal Huntington is tipping his hand about a potential deal involving the Pirates’ ace.
One theory circulating at baseball’s Winter Meetings this week is that because reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton and two-way star Shohei Ohtani have fresh deals with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, the market for other players — like Cole and McCutchen — will move. But when asked about the effect those deals had on the demand for McCutchen and Cole, Huntington was mum. (The Pirates were not finalists for Ohtani, who is expected to hit and pitch for the Angels.)
“I think the Ohtani and Stanton moves are more of an icebreaker for those that talk about it,” Huntington said. “For us, we’ve continued to have conversations before and after, free agent and trade, at all different levels.”
Given their young rotation, the Pirates could toy with trading Cole, who reportedly has drawn interest from the Yankees and Minnesota Twins. The Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners could be logical fits, too.
The Pirates are willing to listen to offers for Gerrit Cole; the Yankees and Pirates match up well for potential deals at this juncture, as sources confirm; Brian Cashman and Neal Huntington have an extensive trade history. Time will tell.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 11, 2017
“Because of our depth, we would be comfortable with one or maybe even two of our young starters being in the bullpen to start the season because of the guys behind them,” Huntington said, without specifically referring to Cole or other pitchers. “I guess a natural transition is if we were to have an opportunity to utilize one of our starters, be it one of our young starters, one of our veteran starters, in a trade that we thought made the organization better, I would think that would make sense for us.”
This offseason, Cole is eligible for his second year of arbitration and is projected to make $7.5 million, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1750 and Twitter: @BloomPG.
First Published: December 12, 2017, 12:14 a.m.