Yankees Offseason Trade Target: Pirates Pitcher Gerrit Cole

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole could present an attractive buy-low opportunity for Yankees general manager Brian Cashman this winter.

A common theme among the New York Yankees recent trades has been acquiring players with elite talent who, for whatever reason, have fallen out of favor with their clubs. New York’s front office has shown willingness to take on some risk with these types of guys rather than going after “sure things.” Aroldis Chapman, Aaron Hicks, Nathan Eovaldi, Didi Gregorius, and Dustin Ackley are all examples of this strategy over the last two years.

That’s why whenever there are rumors of discord between a player and team, my ears perk up a bit. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Times-Review recently reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates are unlikely to pursue an extension with their ace Gerrit Cole because they are wary about his injury history.

If you combine this with Cole’s public comments earlier in the season that he is unhappy with the way he is being compensated as a pre-arbitration player, it’s worth wondering if cracks are beginning to form in the relationship between player and team.

Biertempfel notes that with young starters Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow ready to step into larger roles, Pittsburgh seems likely to at least gauge interest in Cole this winter.

The 26-year-old right-hander made three trips to the disabled list this season, dealing with multiple injuries that limited him to just 21 starts. It’s also worth noting that Cole failed to replicate his dominant 2015 performance, pitching to a 3.88 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 116 IP. That’s certainly above average, but not quite ace-quality.

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The Pirates are in a difficult position this winter. They play in arguably the toughest division in baseball at the moment and simply don’t have the pitching to hang with the Cubs and Cardinals next year despite their talented core of position players.

There are rumors that they may shop Andrew McCutchen this winter, and if they go that route, it may make sense to consider moving some of their other assets as well, especially if they don’t have the resources to address the pitching staff this winter.

For what it’s worth, general managers Brian Cashman and Neal Huntington seem to have a good working relationship and seem to get at least one deal done each offseason. It’s also worth nothing that Cole grew up a die-hard Yankees fan, although it’s possible there could be some lingering bad feelings about the failed negotiations in 2008 after New York drafted him in the first round.

Cashman recently noted that he didn’t think cashing in multiple top prospects for a big name pitcher was a smart strategy for the team given where they were in the rebuilding process, but Cole may be an exception to that because he is young, controlled for three more seasons, and could possibly come at some degree of discount after his down year.