Amid the flurry of extensions the Astros inked with key players this month, one soon-to-be free agent was noticeably missing. Gerrit Cole is in the final year of team control but appears to be entering the season without a new contract.
There’s no overstating how good Cole was last season, finishing fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting. At just 28 years of age, there’s a good chance he has at least a few more seasons of top-notch production ahead of him. So why won’t the Astros open up the checkbook for him?