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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Astros righthander Gerrit Cole refuted a report from The Athletic that he and the club are in negotiations for a contract extension.

“Since the parties involved in what has been called a ‘contract negotiation’ like to air out the laundry, I guess I’ll bring everyone up to speed,” Cole told The Chronicle on Friday, noting he "typically doesn't talk about business in the press."

“There have been no contract negotiations," the pitcher said.

Early Friday morning, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the club was discussing an extension with Cole and Justin Verlander, both of whom are scheduled to enter free agency following this season. Rosenthal wrote it would be an “upset” if either pitcher was extended.

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According to Cole, who is represented by Scott Boras, the Astros approached him and “asked if it would be OK to contact my representatives about an extension.”

“I told them they are free to call Scott whenever they want,” Cole said. "That was the extent of the conversation and since then, Scott has not been contacted by anyone from the club. This seems more like a phone call negotiation involving the media than anyone else.”

Cole defeated the Astros in an arbitration hearing earlier this offseason. His $13.1 million salary was the largest ever awarded in an arbitration hearing.

In February, Cole said it would be “nice” to re-sign with the Astros but reiterated he had no knowledge of any discussions for an extension. Two months earlier, Verlander said he would be “open” to a contract extension from the Astros, though no communication had taken place to that point.

Rosenthal reported Friday that “a two-year deal for more than $60 million” is “at least possible” for the Astros and the 36-year-old Verlander.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow employs a policy of not commenting on specific contract negotiations. He deployed it on Friday, qualifying his answer only with “I’ve always maintained that (Verlander and Cole) are two of the best pitchers in baseball and we’d love to keep them here as long as we can.”

Owner Jim Crane, who attended Friday’s news conference announcing Alex Bregman’s five-year, $100 million extension, said it “just depends on what those guys want to do.”

“Jeff handles all that, but I’ve been aware that we’re interested in possibly one or both of those guys if we can work it,” Crane said. “It really depends on those guys. We’re always open-minded, if the deal is good for the team.”

Crane and Luhnow handed out two extensions this week to Bregman and reliever Ryan Pressly. Prior to those, the Astros had only dispensed three extensions in Luhnow’s tenure as general manager.

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