If members of the Houston Astros are correct, they’ll be seeing plenty of Gerrit Cole going forward.
The star pitcher is the best starter available on the open market this offseason, and after a simply stellar 2019, he’s sure to have plenty of suitors. It’s been speculated for a while that Cole, a California native, might go to play in Los Angeles — and that’s precisely what Astros players think.
Here’s the scuttlebutt, via The Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin.
Cole has done his best to say he will consider an offer from anywhere, but his teammates are betting on the young man going West.
“He’s a California guy, so he probably wants to be close to home,” Astros outfielder Josh Reddick told USA Today. “I know he mentioned Oakland a couple of times because of how he’s pitched there in the past. But that probably won’t happen. They’d have to clear the whole roster to afford him.”
Said Houston pitcher Wade Miley: “I got the Angels, and paying him at least $250 million.”
The Angels, who, of course, are a division rival of the Astros, already are locked into a lengthy, lucrative deal for Mike Trout, but they’ve yet to do a good job building around him. But with Joe Maddon now managing the Halos, the time is as good as ever for L.A. to go all in.
