Pirates Trade Gerrit Cole, Hey Remember When Kyle Schwarber Murdered Gerrit Cole's Soul?

So, after a rumored trade apparently fell through earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros eventually agreed to a deal on Saturday. The Pirates acquired four players from the reigning World Series champions, sending right-handed starter Gerrit Cole to Houston. Cole, 27, had just avoided arbitration with Pittsburgh on Friday, agreeing to a $6.75 million salary. He's under team control through 2019. Meanwhile, the Astros sent Colin Moran, Joe Musgrove, Michael Feliz and Jason Martin to the Pirates.

Kind of underwhelming for the Pirates, who reportedly were asking for Gleyber Torres from the New York Yankees earlier in the offseason. The Chicago Cubs were linked to talking with the Pirates about a possible trade for Cole, but nothing came of it. You have to wonder though, if the Pirates accepted this offer from Houston, were the Cubs just not that serious about a trade, or were the Pirates afraid of making a trade within the division? You'd have to think that if Ian Happ was dangled out there for Pittsburgh, he'd be a better headliner, compared to the trade with the Astros. Oh well, at least Cole is out of the NL Central because he was great against the Cubs, putting up a 2.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 14 career starts. HOWEVER! Remember that 2015 NL Wild Card Game? Remember how dumbass Pirates fans tried to get into Jake Arrieta's head and all he did was dominate? Remember how Gerrit Cole was superstitious about the start time and waited an extra minute, so the game wouldn't start at 19:08 military time, at the time it was the last year the Cubs had won the World Series. And then, do you remember how Kyle Schwarber murdered Gerrit Cole's soul?

Gerrit Cole was 9-3 with a 2.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 14 career starts vs. the #Cubs. So, I'm glad he's out of the NL Central, but who can forget the Schwarber bomb into the Allegheny! pic.twitter.com/aJh4HDpv4y

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) January 13, 2018

Maybe Gerrit Cole is as glad he's out of the NL Central as the Cubs are.