Astros' Jim Crane Says Team Will 'Take a Run' at Gerrit Cole in 2019 Free Agency

Gerrit Cole will be one of the top free agents on the market this offseason, but Houston Astros owner Jim Crane indicated Monday his team will try to re-sign the pitcher.  

"We're going to take a run at it," Crane said. "We don't know if we can get to where they want to get."

He also noted Cole's agent, Scott Boras, is "tough to deal with."

It certainly wasn't a good sign that after the World Series Game 7 loss to the Washington Nationals, Cole wore a Boras Corp hat instead of an Astros one.

The 29-year-old will also command a hefty salary on the open market after a dominant 2019 season.

Cole finished the year with a 20-5 record while leading the league with 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts. In the second half of the season, he was 11-0 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts.

With over 200 innings in four of the last five seasons and relatively consistent production during this stretch, there will be a lot of teams interested in his services. Jim Bowden of The Athletic predicted Cole will make $288 million over eight years in his next deal, which would shatter the current record for pitchers set by David Price at $217 million.

This could keep him out of the Astros price range with over $224 million already on the payroll for 2020, second highest in the majors behind the Boston Red Sox, per Spotrac. Justin Verlander, Jose Altuve and Zack Greinke are already making more than $25 million per season while players like George Springer will get significant raises through arbitration.

Crane indicated the team could go over the luxury tax next year, but it would still take a lot to sign Cole.