Report: Astros intrigued by Pirates' Cole, Watson
The surging Houston Astros, owners of baseball's best record through the first six-plus weeks of 2017, already appear to have set their sights on potentially critical midsummer upgrades.
Houston is reportedly intrigued by a pair of Pittsburgh Pirates hurlers, in right-handed starter Gerrit Cole and southpaw relief ace Tony Watson, sources told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports on Wednesday.
What's unknown is whether the Pirates will become sellers ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, but if their mediocre 16-23 start - hastened by a 3-7 drought over their last 10 contests - continues, it could very well push them into sell mode by midseason.
It's likely the Pirates would demand a high return for Cole, as he's under team control through the 2020 season. Houston owns an excellent farm system with multiple top prospects, which could potentially help the team form a winning offer when - and if - the time comes.
Still, the Pirates haven't appeared anxious to trade their 26-year-old ace, at least publicly. After a report suggesting Cole was drawing interest from the New York Yankees surfaced last week, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington insisted he has no plans to shop Cole this summer, even if he's forced to sell other pieces.
"Our expectation is that Gerrit is going to be a Pirate for a while," Huntington told DK Pittsburgh Sports on May 7.
The Astros have long been searching for an All-Star-caliber arm to pair with former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel at the top of their rotation, and Cole certainly appears to fit that bill on paper. Over his first eight starts of 2017, Cole owns a 3.06 ERA and a career-best 50.4 percent ground-ball rate, while striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings - a number that's much closer to his career norms following an injury-riddled 2016 campaign.
Watson, a free agent this winter, has been a valuable member of the Pirates' bullpen for the last seven seasons, and took over the closer's duties last year. The 31-year-old owns a 1.62 ERA, eight saves, and 13 strikeouts to seven walks in 16 2/3 innings so far this season.