A few days after a false alarm, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow actually pulled off the trade.
Gerrit Cole is joining the reigning World Series champions.
The Astros acquired Cole from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night in exchange for four players, bolstering a rotation already among baseball's best. Cole comes to the Astros with two years of team control and didn't cost them either of their two best prospects, pitcher Forrest Whitley and outfielder Kyle Tucker.
To land Cole, the Astros moved three players from their 40-man roster, including Joe Musgrove, who was expected to be in their 2018 bullpen. They also dealt third baseman Colin Moran and reliever Michael Feliz. Minor league outfielder Jason Martin, who went unselected in last month's Rule 5 Draft, was the fourth player in the Pirates' return.
Cole, 27, comes with an impressive pedigree. The Pirates drafted him first overall in 2011 out of UCLA and he quickly ascended to the top of their rotation. In 2015, he was an All-Star and finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting. He's regressed in the two seasons since but still possesses frontline potential.
Cole will make $6.75 million in 2018 and be arbitration eligible again before 2019.