HOUSTON _ Gerrit Cole at first didn't bring the warm and fuzzy about his time with the Astros after Game 7 of the World Series.
In fact, minutes after his team's loss to the Nationals in Game 7, Cole was already describing that team in the past tense.
"I mean, I'm not employed," Cole said to an Astros public relations official in the home clubhouse, according to the Houston Chronicle. "I'm not employed."
The official was asking Cole, a free agent this offseason whom the Yankees have an interest in and who is just about guaranteed to become one of the game's highest-paid players, to address the group of reporters wanting to talk to him.
The righthander, sporting not an Astros cap but one with the logo of Boras Corp � founded and run by Cole's agent, Scott Boras � eventually gave in.
"All right," Cole said, "as an affiliate of myself."
The 29-year-old, coming off one of the best seasons any player has ever had going into free agency � 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA, including 11-0 with a 1.51 ERA in his last 13 regular-season starts � then answered questions amiably enough.
"A lot of good friendships," Cole said of the two seasons with the Astros, in which he went 35-10 with a 2.68 ERA. "Learned a lot about pitching from my teammates, from my pitching coaches and staff, learned a lot more about the game from (manager) AJ (Hinch) and it was just a pleasure to play in the city of Houston."
Cole, who rebounded from a loss in Game 1 of the Series _ his first loss since May 22 _ with a seven-inning gem in Game 5, called the Astros "unique."
"I'm going to have some friends from this clubhouse for the rest of my life," he said. "You just don't take situations like that for granted."
As good as that sounded, however, Houston is not among the favorites to land Cole for 2020 and beyond. And neither necessarily are the Yankees, who under the ownership of Hal Steinbrenner haven't been as aggressive in dispensing the big-money, multiyear deals as they were under his father.
It was people on the outside, still clinging to the days of the Boss, unrelentingly predicting Manny Machado to end up with the Yankees. But from the start of free agency, they showed almost zero interest in the infielder, who ended up signing a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres in mid-February.
The Yankees, of course, have far more of a need for Cole (and starting pitching depth in general) and had some of their top talent evaluators in person at every one of his starts down the stretch.
They will be involved in his pursuit, but to what extent is not yet clear and may not be for a while. The baseball winter increasingly has become more marathon than sprint.
The favorite?
Though he grew up a Yankees fan, Cole was born in Newport Beach, California, just down the road from Angel Stadium, where he routinely attended games growing up. Industry speculation throughout the postseason had the Angels, still reeling from the continued fallout over the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, desperate to change the story and, already having hired Joe Maddon to manage, being green-lighted by owner Arte Moreno to spend big in free agency. The nearby Dodgers, who have experienced nothing but October disappointment in recent years, also have the financial muscle and could strongly pursue Cole. The Phillies, with free-spending owner John Middleton could be in play, and a "mystery" team or two is sure to crop up just because they always do this time of year.
"I'm not sure I've had the time to really think about it other than Gerrit is one of my favorite players I've ever been around," Hinch said, reflecting on Cole's two seasons with Houston. "He's meant a lot to this franchise."
