Chicago Cubs Rumors: Showing interest in Pirates’ Gerrit Cole

The Chicago Cubs are following through on all leads for pitchers, and that includes the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Gerrit Cole. Could the Cubs have a package that entices the Pirates more than the Yankees?

Recently, the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates have been linked–loosely–for Gerrit Cole. Earlier in the offseason, it seemed like a sure thing that Cole was going to the New York Yankees. Don’t they all see that way? But after Gleyber Torres‘ (ex-Cubs farmhand) name was tossed in, things seemed to go silent. With the state of the Pirates, it’s hard to say if they’re going full rebuild or a re-tool.

We’re all aware that the Cubs don’t have the stocked farm system they once had before. It’s still a talented lot, especially with pitching. But not much of it is major league ready. In fact, you’re likely looking at two or three years for many of these guys to make their debut. With two years left on his contract, the Cubs would be hard pressed to know what they were giving up for Cole. At least, not in the same way the did for Aroldis Chapman or Jose Quintana. But would it be worth it to consider the deal if you were the Cubs?

Lange and Albertos

If this is a deal the Cubs want to get done, it’s surely going to cost them a couple of their top pitching prospects. Pirates Break Down has heard they’re looking at Jose Albertos and Alex Lange. Albertos was selected in the amateur free agent draft and is currently the Cubs No. 2 prospect. Not expected to make the majors until sometime in 2022, but Albertos is only 19 years old. His development is still coming along, and he could be a factor in the future.

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But the problem with something like that is that the Pirates are conceding to a full-blown rebuild. While they deal away two years of a team-friendly contract of Cole, they’ll be gaining several years of control from the Cubs.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg for the Pirates. They’re also rumored to be in on Lange as well. While Albertos is young and raw, Lange already has some experience at the collegiate level.

Drafted in the first-round out of LSU, Lange went down to the wire to sign with the Cubs. Apparently, with some concerns about his physical, they took it right down to the wire with Lange.

But with that, he went right to work for the Cubs, reporting to the Eugene Emeralds. His sample size was small, tossing just 9 1/3 innings while allowing six runs, five earned.

The two-time All-American went 30-9 in 53 career starts and became the second pitcher in LSU history to record 400 strikeouts (406).

Caratini ready to go?

Victor Caratini is the other part of the deal and is major league ready now. As it stands, the Cubs would likely go with him as their backup catcher entering the season. But if he was dealt, you can expect the Cubs to make another signing for a backstop.

Caratini doesn’t have a whole lot more to prove in the minors at the plate. In 83 games at Iowa, he batted .342 with 10 home runs and 61 knocked in. In Double-A the year before, he hit .291 in 115 games. If anything, the Cubs would like him to get some more experience behind the plate. With Willson Contreras bound to get most of the action, there wouldn’t be a sufficient amount of innings to go around for Caratini.

Hence, the Cubs problem with him. Do they give him a go as the backup catcher and hope he picks things up? Or do they sign a veteran guy to backup Contreras and trade away Caratini?