Pirates Trade Gerrit Cole to Astros

Cole was 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA in 21 starts last season.

The World Series champion  Astros added a piece to their starting pitching rotation on Saturday, as Houston agreed to acquire Gerrit Cole from the Pirates in exchange for a package including Joe Musgrove and Colin Moran. 

CONFIRMED: The Pirates have acquired right-handed relief pitcher Michael Feliz, outfielder Jason Martin, third baseman Colin Moran and right-handed starting pitcher Joe Musgrove from the Houston Astros in exchange for Gerrit Cole. pic.twitter.com/iPhCMXQSI7

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) January 14, 2018

FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman first reported the details of the deal. 

Cole, 27 was 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA and 196 strikeouts in 2017. It was the highest ERA of his four-year career, and Cole went 19-8  with a 2.60 ERA en route to becoming an All-Star in 2015. 

Cole should immediately slot into the Astros rotation alongside Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr. and World Series hero Charlie Morton. 

Musgrove started 15 games for the Astros last season and had a 4.77 ERA. He made seven appearances in relief in the postseason and picked up the win in Game 5 of the World Series after throwing one scoreless inning. 

Moran, a 25-year-old third baseman, has appeared in just 16 major league games.

Cole will make $6.75 million this season after settling with the Pirates in arbitration, and he'll be eligible for arbitration again year after next season .