I kind of scoffed when I opened my Twitter on the day that I
ran an article about the New York Yankees potentially trading for one of their
former draft picks and current Pittsburgh Pirates arm Gerrit Cole. To
paraphrase the tweet basically asked why my site was the only one to run this
story. Well first of all is it that far out of the realm of possibilities that
we could have an original thought or that we could break news? We’ve broken
news before, we just never received the full credit we deserved because we are
still considered to be the “little guy.” Secondly, and this is how I responded to
the tweet, a simple Google search would show that we were not the only ones
talking about it. We weren’t even the first to talk about it yet the trade
winds surrounding the New York Yankees and Gerrit Cole this summer continue to
swirl as we stand here talking today.
This rumor has gained so much steam and credibility that
even Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports discussed it recently on his blog. Heyman was
quoted as saying the following:
“The Yankees have always loved him so they’d make sense. New
York drafted him out of high school as a late first rounder, but Cole’s father
told them then that there was no offer that could keep him away from UCLA.”
Now on the site and on Twitter I’ve seen some talks that
would suggest that Cole wouldn’t be worth the prospect haul it would take the
acquire him but I am on the fence about it myself. Cole has a career 3.20 ERA
and has an uncanny ability of keeping the ball down and in the ballpark, which
is evident by just 43 home runs allowed during his five-year career in
Pittsburgh. I get that pitching in the NL Central is an entirely different
animal than pitching in the American League East and I also get that pitching
inside Yankee Stadium is much different than pitching in a pitcher-friendly
ballpark in Pittsburgh so I did a little bit of research. Shout outs to
Baseball Reference for the stats.
Cole actually has more wins on the road, has given up less
hits, runs and home runs, strikes out more batters and has comparable stats
otherwise across the board in almost an identical sample size. Cole is not a
product of the stadium out in Pittsburgh, he is what he is.
Here is another interesting stat I found, and I’ll finish
the article with this, regarding run support. When Cole gets two runs or less
he has a career 5-23 record in 31 starts. When Cole gets 3-5 runs of support he
is 25-11 in 50 starts. When Cole gets six runs or more, which he would a lot in
the Bronx, Cole is a perfect 19-0 in 22 starts so please tell me again how he
wouldn’t be a good fit at the top of the Yankees pitching rotation. I’ll wait.
For what we would have to give for him I don't want him, plus he had the chance to be a Yankee and passed on it. Call it petty but that sticks with me.
ReplyDeleteThere is much to determine about the pitching talent in the minors before anyone raids our system.
ReplyDeleteThat's great listing his stats on the road but forgetting to mention it's ststsnin NL with no DH. Weaker lineups. Give me stats against some of better hitting NL teams and also add s run on his current era and that's what you get in the AL. I wouldn't trade any of our big prospects for a kid who recently said batting is important to him and in two years he will be a free agent. If your argument is we are one pitcher away from being the best team in the AL the next few years then you consider what we would have to deal but understand any haul will be big and will set is back which is opposite of what fans and team is trying to do!
ReplyDeleteMe, I like the answer Ronald gave, as it is the same as I have been saying for a long time...on two fronts, no, let's make it three fronts!
ReplyDelete1) See what we have at the end of the year before giving up our chance of making a run every year for the next 5 to 10 years.
2) We have many very good players showing very well right now, some in the lower farm system that may very well turn out to be better than what we would get right now for most of the 28 /30-year-old pitchers.
3) The outfield can very well be one of the best in baseball within a year or so and the same goes for the infield. We know the tools each player has but, until they have a chance to prove they can play up to those tools (or not) why give them away for a pitcher in their 30's?
Synopsis;
Pitchers are a heartbeat away from injury...we all have seen it...and that fastball a 30-year-old pitcher has now is just a few short years (or arm trouble) away from being CC. As of right now, we have about 5 or more pitchers on the move that are showing good numbers and good stuff. We could end up with a couple of 24/26-year-olds with better numbers in the future than anyone we would get in a blockbuster trade and end up with another empty Farm system for the next few years again.