Astros acquire Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole in trade

HOUSTON – Not long after the Astros spent the afternoon at a jam-packed Minute Maid Park for the annual Fanfest, general manager Jeff Luhnow was able to finalize a major trade to land starting pitcher Gerrit Cole from the Pirates. 

The deal was reportedly close to happening earlier in the week before talks stalled.

Sources confirmed the deal to KPRC 2 Sports Director Randy McIlvoy the deal for Cole, which will have the Astros sending pitchers Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz, along with third baseman Colin Moran and outfielder Jason Martin to the Pirates.

"We're excited about this move. This move gives us a better chance over the next two years to repeat and hopefully get another championship," said Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow.

"That's been our goal all along to get to the point of competitiveness and win a championship and hopefully win multiple championships. This is the type of move that helps us come closer to that goal.

"This comes at a significant cost, we gave up four players that we love," Luhnow added. "Four players that we all think have tremendous futures in front of them."

Cole has been the Pirates ace for the past several seasons. In 2015, he finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. He was 19-8, with a 2.60 ERA that season.

Last season Cole was 12-12 with a 4.06 ERA while leading the league in starts with 33. He also finished second in the NL in home runs allowed with 33 in 203 innings pitched.

Prior to 2017, Cole had allowed only 36 home runs in 579.1 career innings pitched. 

On Friday, Cole and the Pirates agreed to a one-year contract worth $6.75 million to avoid arbitration. 

Check out some Astros players react to the news on Twitter: