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Gerrit Cole, The Final Piece to Contention

I believe that the AL West will be truly up for grabs in the year 2020. Even though many pundits believe that the Houston Astros have complete control over the division for the foreseeable future, their starting pitching appears to show weakness. Their future rotation depends on the right-handed aces Gerrit Cole and the aging Justin Verlander. More importantly, both are approaching free agency next year. In addition, a lot is dependent on the excellent pitching prospect in waiting, Forrest Whitley, now that Charlie Morton has docked in Tampa Bay and Lance McCullers Jr. underwent Tommy John surgery. Furthermore, an unwillingness to spend on top tier free agents may hinder Houston's ability to field a quality future rotation.

Coincidentally, the Halos have an obvious need for starting pitching (and relief pitching but that is another matter). The Angels have been linked to a variety of arms this offseason but have resisted signing any long term deals. The overall dearth of high end pitching in the market led other teams to drastic, yet understandable overpays for Nathan Eovaldi, Patrick Corbin, and probably Yusei Kikuchi. However, none of them really made sense for the Angels. They likely would have been expensive marginal rotation upgrades when considering Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs.

Separately, the Matt Harvey deal coupled with the Yasmani Grandal and Yusei Kikuchi rumors seems puzzling to me as the Halos appear to be in the running for a lot of Scott Boras' clients. GM Billy Eppler appears to be attempting to cultivate a relationship with the super-agent. This reminds me a lot of the Lakers overpaying role player Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in order to develop a channel with his primary advisor, super-agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. This enabled them in their pursuit of another Klutch Sports client, LeBron James. You may have heard of him.

With that being said, I would not be surprised if the Angels targeted Zach Britton and maybe Bryce Harper, other Boras clientele, to complement the current roster. And in order to fill the starting rotation, I believe that Eppler is planning on acquiring the final piece, Gerrit Cole, at the end of next season barring a 2019 Astros or Angels title.

It makes too much sense to bring Cole, the Orange County native and former UCLA Bruin, home. Such a move would provide three times the value of a typical high end acquisition. Cole would impact our opposition through subtraction, give an insight into the Astros pitching methodology, and give Angels fans a local ace pitcher to cheer for. Furthermore, I believe that being a hometown hero will be a key factor, as the Angels need a special complement for their core of generationally unique players in Trout, Ohtani, and Simmons. I think a lot of top tier free agents will shy away from joining these potential Hall of Fame caliber players due to a fear of playing in another's shadow.

Please let me know what you think of this piece. I look forward to reading your comments down below.

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