Financial riches await focused Cole

HOUSTON — All Gerrit Cole has to do is stay in the moment.

He possesses one of the premier arms in Major League Baseball. He is surrounded by Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Wade Miley in the Astros’ droolworthy rotation. And somebody — maybe the Astros, probably one of MLB’s 29 other teams — is going to change Cole’s life forever this offseason.

But right now, as September approaches and the playoffs inch near, the best place for Cole is the present.

The 28-year-old power righthander is a perfect 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 40 innings since the All-Star break. Cole hasn’t lost a game since

May and is a co-ace on a chemistry-first club that entered Saturday tied with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in MLB.

While Verlander is the leading Cy Young candidate in the American League, his friend and locker-room cohort barely trails and keeps adding heat.

Focus on the present. Let the future take care of itself.

“I’m just really humbled to be here and really thankful that I can be a part of this, because it’s pretty special,” Cole said Wednesday at Minute Maid Park, after throwing six innings of three-hit, two-run ball and striking out 10 in a 14-3 blowout of Colorado.

Local euphoria and national awe were instantaneous the moment the Astros stunned the rest of baseball by trading for Greinke in the final minutes of the recent trade deadline. But there was soon a follow-up thought. Analytical, financial, practical.

Adding Greinke meant that Cole was leaving.

Right?

Cole is making a team-friendly $13.5 million this season. The second the 2019 World Series ends, the Astros’ No. 2 starter — acquired in a January 2018 trade with the constantly rebuilding Pittsburgh Pirates — will be up for grabs on the open market.

The Astros have extended

Alex Bregman, José Altuve and Verlander. George Springer and Carlos Correa are theoretically up next on the long-term-inHouston list.

The free-agent market has been crazy the last two seasons and modern baseball is in a weird place. But anyone who knows anything believes Cole’s name will be smoking hot this offseason. He’s also a Scott Boras client, which means a lot if you know your baseball.

Fans want the Astros to find a way to keep Cole, but feel like he’s already 99 percent gone. Owner Jim Crane acknowledged how difficult it will be to retain the No. 1 overall pick of the 2011 draft. General manager Jeff Luhnow knows just how valuable Cole is set to become.

The number “$200 millionplus” gets thrown around. Real prime-time starters are hard to find in 2019. Washington (61-54) gave Patrick Corbin $140 million over six years last offseason, and Corbin’s current numbers (9-5, 3.43 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) don’t exactly scream World Series trophy.

Greinke. Contract. Future. Astros. MLB.

Everyone has Cole thoughts. What is the man himself thinking?

“If I’m just being honest with you, we hold each other accountable so well here to stay focused on what we’ve got to do,” Cole said. “When we get a guy like Greinke, my mind goes to being better equipped to win the World Series. I kind of leave the financial stuff for another day. We’ll see how free agency plays out and see how it goes.”

A follow-up question was met with a “just have to see” answer.As I said above: stay in the moment. And the better he pitches through October, the more someone is going to pay him when the 2019 campaign ends.

His life-changing contract will surely come. But the future can wait for a few more months.

Cole never has been this good, and he doesn’t have to singlehandedly carry his team every five days.

If this is Cole’s last run with the Astros, it should end with a trophy won by both.

Karen Warren / Staff photographer No one has pitched better than Gerrit Cole since the All-Star break, going 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA, to set up a free-agent frenzy.