Today marks the first day that free agents can negotiate and sign with other teams, meaning Astros ace Gerrit Cole is now open for business — or, rather, his agent Scott Boras is. Cole is the offseason’s premier free agent and should have no shortage of teams with legitimate interest.
He is coming off a dominant two-year run with the Astros, posting a 35-10 record and 2.68 ERA with 602 strikeouts in 65 regular season starts. He also has a career 2.60 ERA in the postseason, so there’s no Clayton Kershaw effect with him.