Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole will not face a straight innings cap this season, despite having a career high of just 150 thrown in his career. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told MLB Netwrok radio Friday that he thinks Cole can throw into October if the team needs him, but they will be monitoring him closely to see if he shows signs of fatigue.
Manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Saturday the team has a "systematic plan in place" to keep Cole on the mound, but he declined to give any details. In fact, Cole himself isn't clear what the team has in store for him.
"I don't have any information on that. It's something that I almost don't want to know because I don’t want to think about, he said. "I'm sure they are talking about something, Id have to assume. It's been brought quite a bit to my attention by the press. As far as I'm concerned I'm just preparing to start every fifth day."
Cole has thrown 61 innings with a 3.69 ERA at the major-league level so far, after tossing 68 at Triple-A prior to his callup.