re: DAT 9/24: YPFHA (Cole) @ Mariners (Dunn), 9:10 CDT

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I'm thinking Lud is liable to just pin his hopes to McCullers being a good #3 for '20, coupled w/ the optionality for some trade deadline wizardry next yr.

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So, Cole’s most likely suitor would be the Angels, and he and his wife obviously have ties there.

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By MIKE DIGIOVANNASTAFF WRITER
AUG. 7, 2019

6:20 PM
Angels fans probably would like nothing better than to wake up one morning around Christmas and find a big lump of Cole in their stockings.

Gerrit Cole, that is.

There might not be a better fit in free agency next winter than the Angels and Cole, the Houston Astros right-hander who is 14-5 with a 2.87 earned-run average and an American League-leading 226 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings of 25 starts.
Cole is what the pitching-poor Angels need an ace. He's a strapping 6-foot-4, 225-pound flame-thrower who could front a young rotation and possibly vault the Angels into playoff contention.

And Cole, a Newport Beach native who grew up an Angels fan and played at Orange Lutheran High School and UCLA, seems open to a possible homecoming.
After allowing one run and striking out 11 in Houston's 11-2 win in Angel Stadium on July 18, Cole said he enjoyed pitching in front of family members and friends.

"I grew up here, watched games when they still had bleachers," Cole said. "It's a really unique park. Driving up the 57 today, seeing the Big A, it's always cool. It's always special. In an industry where you don't always get to see your family as much as you would like, getting to hug your mom after the game is nice."

For an Angels-Cole pairing to produce Hallmark moments in 2020, however, the Angels must do something they have never done: dole out a nine-figure contract to a pitcher.

The two biggest contracts the Angels have awarded pitchers are the five-year, $85-million extension Jered Weaver signed in 2011 and the five-year, $77.5-million deal C.J. Wilson signed as a free agent before 2012.

Cole, who will turn 29 in September, could command a deal in the $200-million range, and not just because his agent, Scott Boras, rarely settles for less than top dollar or offers hometown discounts.

Cole will be the class of a thin free-agent pitching crop heavy on older left-handers such as
Hyun-Jin Ryu, who will be 33 next season, Madison Bumgarner (30), Cole Hamels (36), Rich Hill (40) and Wade Miley (34). The top right-handers will be Zack Wheeler (29) and Tanner Roark (33).


"We haven't secured one," Angels General Manager Billy Eppler said Wednesday of a nine-figure deal with a pitcher, "but that doesn't mean we haven't explored one. There is not a philosophy or a directive in our organization to avoid sizable investments in pitching. The circumstances need to warrant such an investment.

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Three-way tie for two spots: This could get truly intriguing. Because the A’s have the best record (9-4) in the head-to-head matchups with Tampa Bay (9-5) and Cleveland (2-11), they would get the option of hosting the first play-in game Monday. The winner of that game would be the first wild-card team and the loser then would travel to play the third team next Tuesday. The winner of that game would be the second wild-card team. The A’s could opt to be the third team, with a must-win home game next Tuesday.

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