3 Discussion Items

Lindsey Wasson-USA TODAY Sports

Topic 1 - Gerrit Cole - the #1 Free Agent in 2019

MLBTradeRumors just posted their 2019 Free Agent Power Rankings with Cole coming in at #1. Here was their comments

1. Gerrit Cole. Cole jumps to the top of this list simply by virtue of the Red Sox locking down Sale and Bogaerts. Cole, 28, has been homer-prone in his first six starts, but it’s really just one rough outing in Texas that has thrown off his ERA. Sale is a comparable worth considering. Sale’s new contract takes him through the age of 35, one year short of David Price, Max Scherzer, and Jon Lester and two years short of Zack Greinke. Cole’s argument is that he, too, should require a commitment through age 35, which would necessitate a seven-year deal. For all that went wrong for free agents in the 2018-19 offseason, Patrick Corbin still got a strong six-year contract with a shorter track record than Cole. In the end, Cole needs a good old-fashioned bidding war to develop, and teams have become increasingly reluctant to enter into those. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote on March 22nd that the Astros were discussing extensions with both Cole and rotation-mate Justin Verlander, and shortly after that they inked Verlander to a two-year, $66MM extension. I’d say that decreases the chances of the Astros extending Cole.

I wrote an article exploring what the cost would be for an Astros extension, in which my logic resulted in a 6 year / $165 Million dollar contract (if they bought out this year). With this year likely being out of the picture, the pricing goes up dramatically, with my best guess being closer to 6/$180 or 7/$200. Would you sign one of these deals? What would your proposed contract look like?

Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Topic 2 - Are you disappointed in the Astros start?

I wrote an article gleaming with optimism in regards to being an Astros fan today. Surprisingly, I feel like a lot of fans on TCB and on twitter have been pretty rough on the Astros over the past week. I’m curious, have the Astros fallen short of your expectations?

Who has exceeded your expectations? Who has fallen short? Anyone have you worried with the Small Sample Size factored in?

Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Topic 3 - Would you trade Josh Reddick?

Obviously over the off-season, Astros fans were all but calling for Reddick’s head. He had a rough 2018, and truthfully, his performance probably rests somewhere between his 2017 and his 2018 performances. I took a deep dive into what I saw as a new approach and the sustainability of it based on advanced analytics.

With all of that said, if there was ever to be a time to trade Reddick, it’s coming up soon. Over the off-season he was basically performing to the value of his contract, but it would be a toss-up on whether we would need to include salary relief to get him off the books. He is getting on the older side of the coin, and we have Alvarez and Tucker in the minors potentially ready to fill his spot. Who knows, maybe his salary relief helps you fund the Cole extension.

Let us know if you think his performance is sustainable and/or if you’d look to trade him while his value is high.