After triggering opt-out, Cole staying with Yanks on existing deal

NEW YORK – Gerrit Cole continues to live his childhood dream each day that he can call himself the ace of the Yankees, a valuable relationship that both he and the club hope to continue through the remainder of his playing career.

After triggering a contractual opt-out this past weekend that could have made him a free agent, Cole and the Yankees agreed to continue with their deal as it was originally constituted, meaning that the right-hander is still signed to a contract with $144 million remaining through 2028.

Cole and the Yankees may someday entertain extension talks concerning the 2029 season and beyond, general manager Brian Cashman said, but that can take place at a later date. Cashman said that club decision-makers “weren’t necessarily comfortable” voiding the opt-out by adding a year and $36 million to the deal, which they communicated to Cole and agent Scott Boras.

“We wanted our player and our ace back, and he certainly didn’t want to go either,” Cashman said at the GM Meetings in San Antonio, Texas. “We had a lot of healthy dialogue about trying to thread the needle and keep it in play. We could always talk further as we move forward about the future.”

Now 34, Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees prior to the 2020 season. Cashman said that managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine were involved in the discussions about a potential extension, with advancing talks prompting an extension from Sunday to Monday.

Ultimately, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association signed off on both sides agreeing to nix the fifth-year option, essentially reversing Cole’s deal as though he had never opted out. That agreement had to be reached and approved by 5 p.m. ET on Monday; Cashman said that it was finalized about an hour before the deadline.

“All parties wanted to keep the relationship going,” Cashman said. “The pressure point was the time frame we were in and the window that we’re in, so we removed the time frame.”

Cashman and the Yankees have plenty of other pressing issues on their plates this offseason, highlighted by their quest to retain outfielder Juan Soto, who is now a free agent.

The Yanks also picked up a $2.5 million option on right-hander Luke Weaver while declining a $17 million option on first baseman Anthony Rizzo, instead paying a $6 million buyout.

Another call made on Monday was not making a qualifying offer to infielder Gleyber Torres, which would have been valued at $21.05 million (Soto received one, but he’s certain to decline it).

The American League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner entering 2024, Cole’s season debut was delayed until June due to nerve irritation and edema in the hurler’s pitching elbow. He made 17 starts in the regular season, posting an 8-5 record and 3.41 ERA, with 99 strikeouts across 95 innings. He permitted two runs or fewer in 12 of those 17 starts.

Though his workload was truncated because of the abbreviated season, Cole pitched like an ace in October, including two World Series starts against the Dodgers in which he held the eventual champions to one earned run and eight hits across 12 2/3 innings.

However, Cole’s final outing included a sequence in which he failed to cover first base on a Mookie Betts ground ball to Rizzo, a play that allowed the first of Los Angeles’ five unearned runs to score in a nightmarish inning.

“I gave it everything I had,” Cole said that night. “I'll be frustrated, like every time you have a tough loss and you use it to motivate you. But it's all out there. There's nothing a whole lot more that I could do."

A six-time All-Star, Cole has compiled a 59-28 record with a 3.12 ERA and 915 strikeouts across 759 innings with the Yankees.

“He’s one of the best starting pitchers in baseball,” Cashman said. “He knows us, we know him. One thing certainly we can count on is, New York is not too big for him. As we have all experienced, that’s not always the case with others.

“His work ethic is second to none, his prep is second to none. So we are really just comfortable to have him still in play for us, and we’re thankful for that.”