Gerrit Cole might have enjoyed his two seasons as a member of the Houston Astros, getting to the World Series and all.
But now the former Pittsburgh Pirates first-round draft choice and free-agent-to-be looks like he’s ready to try a third team.
Gerrit Cole, an impending free agent, was resistant to talk after Game 7.
— Hunter Atkins (@HunterAtkins35) October 31, 2019
“I’m not an employee of the team,” he said to an Astros spokesperson. “I guess as a representative of myself...” Then he spoke.
An hour after the Astros lost Game 7 of the World Series to the Washington Nationals, he told a reporter he was “not an employee of the team,” according to larrybrownsports.com.
Cole didn’t say if he was irked because he didn’t get a chance to pitch in the late innings Wednesday night. He would have been working on only two days rest after throwing 107 pitches in a Game 5 victory against the Nationals, but he might have had a few more in him with the game on the line.
Cole, who was 20-5 during the regular season and led the majors with 326 strikeouts, was wearing a hat emblazoned with the logo of his agent Scott Boras’ company.
Of course, he was. He’s in line to get, possibly, the richest contract ever given to a pitcher, something in the neighborhood of $300 million.
The Pirates traded Cole to the Astros on Jan. 13, 2018, getting starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, third baseman Colin Moran, relief pitcher Michael Feliz and minor-league outfielder Jason Martin in return. The Pirates still have those players.
Musgrove has shown signs of being an effective pitcher and a clubhouse leader, and Moran drove in 80 runs this season, hitting .277 for the second straight year.
Meanwhile, the Astros got two great seasons from Cole (35-10, 602 strikeouts and a 2.68 ERA) and an appearance in the World Series.
Gerrit Cole, less than an hour after losing the World Series, tells reporter he's no longer an employee of the Astros, while wearing a hat featuring his agent Scott Boras' company logo. He gone https://t.co/pIpqcMxDvW #Astros #mlb pic.twitter.com/pZot4NKnqr
— Larry Brown (@LBSports) October 31, 2019
