The Yankees have already met this offseason with the top free agent available, Cy Young-caliber right-hander Gerrit Cole. It sounds as if their powwow went well, as the Yankees have a Cole signing atop their list of offseason priorities, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports. While the luxury tax has frequently been an issue for the Yankees since Hal Steinbrenner assumed ownership several years ago, it doesn’t look as if it’ll impede a potential Cole signing. The Yankees “have ownership-level approval to offer him a record-setting deal,” Passan writes.
Along with the Yankees, the Angels – who have been regarded as the favorite to sign Cole – as well as the Dodgers may be lining up for a Cole bidding war, suggests Passan. Offers haven’t come in yet, but the Yankees’ involvement could be an enormous boon for Cole. Even if he doesn’t sign with them, the financially powerful franchise has the money to further drive up bidding for Cole, who’s essentially a shoo-in to ink a contract worth far more than the record pact David Price signed with the Red Sox entering 2016 (seven years, $217MM).
The Yankees haven’t handed out a nine-figure contract in free agency since they added righty Masahiro Tanaka on a seven-year, $155MM payday going into 2014. However, the franchise clearly loves Cole, as it selected him in the first round of the 2008 draft (Cole went to UCLA instead, later becoming the No. 1 overall pick of the Pirates) and tried to trade for him a couple years ago. But the Astros outbid the Yankees for Cole before the 2018 season, and Houston eliminated New York from this fall’s ALCS with Cole’s help. The Yankees, however, have clearly seen enough of Cole dominating in other uniforms, and they look ready to strike now that he’s available in free agency.
The Yankees sent a notable contingent to meet with Cole and agent Scott Boras this week, per Passan, who names general manager Brian Cashman, skipper Aaron Boone, pitching coach Matt Blake and franchise icon Andy Pettitte as those who sat down with him. In the event the Yankees lose out on Cole, though, they haven’t ruled out going after longtime National and reigning World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg, the No. 2 starter on the market. The Yankees have also met with Strasburg, another Boras client.
Balls.
Yankees are going to fail at their “priority.” They know it. Their fans know it. DOGS know it. This is stupid.
What will you do/say if you’re wrong? Will you eat your hat?
He seems like a stand up guy so maybe
Good one 🙂
We’ll see.
@StandUpGuy
I love how the world works. A few years of not spending crazily on a player and you guys act as if that’s forever the narrative. Oh wait, they did acquire Stanton. Yeezus. Cole may or may not sign but the Yanks still spend more than almost every team and that’s been consistent over the last 25 years. Let’s wait and see.
Umm Yanks haven’t spent real money on FA sense the disastorus Ellsbury, Tanaks, Beltran signing of what 2015? Stanton was a trade, we didn’t set that contract. Enough crying money. The Yankees are valued at 4 billion dollars. They need an ACE. Haven’t developed one who is proven. Haven’t been able to trade for one because we don’t have the chips. So if the Chip is Money, We have the most, and a 29 year old ACE is available, well you do the math and stop using the reality of the situation as sour grapes, IF this happens
When did the Yankees sign Kanye West? I didn’t even know he played baseball.
If I understand the point StandUpGuy is trying to make correctly then the guy is right. If Cole is truly their priority then it’s unlikely anyone could outbid the richest franchise in world sport.
southbeachbully is an angry guy or girl. Yankees prioritize Cole and the Sox prioritize Grandal.
Well no… Cole could leave money on the table to go play on a west cost team…
Anyone who makes a KITH Brain Candy reference wins in my book.
lmao,,cool story bro,,get ready to cry in your cereal if it happens.
I think I’m going to enjoy reviewing your comment at a future date
Hope they do fail and he signs elsewhere. It’ll all go south eventually as he ages
Like Max Scherzer’s deal has for Washington?
Yankees need to make him an offer like yesterday and then go after Bumgarner man needs a change of scenery bring him on in.
Yankees need Cole so bad it’s not even funny.
In no order
Cole
Servino
Paxton
Bumgarner
Tanaka
German
You got a problem with that go have your head checked. Get in done Yankees tomorrow morning.
When your done with that get a L hitting first base man. After go out and get a true leadoff hitter that can play Center field and move DJ to the number three hole. Off season complete.
Anyone disagree with that above needs their head checked.
and resign gardner!! 🙂
No so fast it’s December last year the post season dud signed Oct 31st. I’m hoping the Yankees realize when they get to the post season he’s a pile of dog poop. They need a younger faster CF until Hicks gets back and he also needs to be a lead off hitter.
If they can sign a starting Center Fielder who can lead off bring Gardner back on a one year deal as the 5th outfielder.
Thank you come again
I agree. Not sold on Gardner starting everyday in CF. I would not be adverse to Tauchman/Maybin platoon. To me IF a Darryl Hamilton could hit a lick, I would play him in CF with Tauchman/Fraizer platoon in LF. You get more speed more athletic. The issue is GIancarlo can’t stay healthy and clogs your DH when Judge & Gary need breathers.
Yanks should also platoon Voit with Ford at 1B next year. Losing Didi and Gardy we need more LH bats, more athleticism, and more speed along with an ACE to complete the team. I also want Betances back…
crazy beans do you watch the Yankee games? Not only did he hit 28 home runs, in the last ten years Gardner is ranked #2 in all of baseball in defensive runs saved and ultimate zone coverage. Maybe you would like Frazier to play everyday. Some of you”fans” don’t have a clue.
It’s easy to spend other peoples’ money. Cole knows where he wants to play and I think that will be his deciding factor assuming a small variance in offers.
any ideas for this left handed first baseman and center fielder?
“any ideas for this left handed first baseman and center fielder?”
Ellsbury and Bird?
Birdsbury?
Grecoby Elsird
@the beanman– What do you think the Yankees are going to have, a $275 million payroll? They aren’t getting Cole AND Bumgarner. DJ is perfect for the leadoff spot and they have Mike Ford as their lefty hitting 1st baseman.
Actually, I believe the Yanks might not re-sign Gardner if they get Cole, just to save $10 million or so, and they might look to pare another contract – though I don’t know who that might be – to keep the payroll under the $248 million level.
I think this is one of the main reason they did not sign Gardner I honestly believe they are saving the 10 mil for Cole or another SP. In the end they might say to Gardner here’s 4mil take it or go some place else. Nobody need a .200 hitter that goes dead in the playoffs.
Weird that he’s consistently worth 3-4 wins. Brett Gardner is a winner plain and simple.
It’s just that those 3-4 wins are meaningless games in April against Baltimore every year.
Ballgames won in April still count in the standings in September.
to be honest he plays plus defense and the entire lineup went cold in the playoffs,,so yeah.
Brett Gardner is nothing more then a meaningless winner.
Brett Gardner isn’t even a winner. Where the heck did that come from??
Dander, seriously false information, but you already know that
Sorry Robert, but I fail to see how Gardner gets to wear the “winner” label. He’s played 12 years in New York and has 1 ring(that he had very little to do with) for a franchise that outspent every single other team over that period by a wide margin. He’s a career 101OPS+. League average all the way.
Not everyone can hit like you in the playoffs louiebeans. Such an A whole.
Yanks will be the highest bidder for Cole, he is the final piece to the puzzle.
You can’t buy a championship. It’s proven year after year. So no one player is the final piece of any teams’ puzzle to guarantee a WS win.
Your are 100% correct but the Yankees have been starving for SP for years now. They need to do anything at this point.
Even so, he would certainly improve their chances.
He didn’t say garunteed. Everybody has to go out and play. What he is saying is that signing a true are like cole is the only thing left to do for a Yankees team that is otherwise “built”.
I agree, Dodge. A guy like Cole will improve any team’s chances. I think a balanced team is equally important though. The Yankees are definitely a powerhouse. We’ll see how that translates to the field with or without Cole.
@eph289
You can absolutely buy a championship. You build a good foundation of home grown players and once you see yourself as being close to contending, or in the Yanks case, winning, then you go out and you sign or trade (for a star player making big money) to try and get you over the top. Even if it’s not a big FA a trade for a well-paid star, is just as good.
Cashman did an excellent job building a strong farm, knowing which prospects to trade and which to keep, he rounded it out with some depth pieces (Voit, Ford, DJ, Gio, Tauchman, etc) and now we need a guy who we can count on in big games. It may even help to get the best out of Severino and maybe Paxton, both who have TOR stuff but haven’t ascended to that next level of performance we need?. Verlander did it for Cole. Maybe Cole can show Sevy, German and maybe Paxton on how to take it to the next level.
True cole was with astros for 2 years and they didn’t win it .
Actually the Yankees DID buy a title in 2009.
Yeah, but you can buy your way into the postseason. It’s been proven year after year after year. Winning a championship is just about getting hot at the right time and having good matchups, but the richest teams always have an advantage over the entire season.
The Dodgers may not have won a title for 30 years, but they have had an opportunity in the postseason for 11 out of the last 16 years.
The Yankees have won 5 titles in 25 years, but they have also been in the playoffs another 16 times out of the last 25 years. In other words the have had a legit chance at a championship 88% of the time for the past quarter century. You cannot claim that money had nothing to do with that.
Conversely, the Marlins have won 2 championships in their history, but have only only made the postseason those two times in their history.
You can’t buy titles, but you definitely can buy opportunities.
I tend to agree with that hiflew, but the point of the postseason and spending all that money is to win the world series. Ask the Dodgers how frustrated they are right now. As Dander pointed out above, it does happen that a huge payroll team wins it all. But historically, that’s not the norm. I haven’t done the research, but I believe it will show that world series winners are usually teams with middle to high middle level payrolls with great team chemistry. I think back to the 2015 Royals for example.
I’m happy to be proven wrong if someone has the time to take a look.
I think Happ is going to win a spot in the rotation in the spring. I think his wife’s pregnancy during the season was a big distraction for him. His child was born in August. His ERA in September was 1.65. I’d put him in the place of German. If German ever comes back from his suspension, I think he’s better suited for the bullpen with his slight frame. He wore down over the course of the season.
@Top Jimmy
If Cole or Stras are signed, I absolutely would keep German over Happ. I think Happ can be traded if the Yanks are willing to eat $10 mil of the deal. $7 mil saved is a lot more factoring in the lux tax.
So if anyone disagrees with your offseason plan for the Yankees which consist of spending 300+ million on 2 starting pitchers, adding a L hitting first baseman AND adding a true leadoff hitter to play center they have to get their heads checked ? I highly disagree. The Yankees are not having a 400 million dollar offseason while they’re going to have to pay judge and the young guys soon with Stanton on the books.
They may sign Cole and if they did their spending ends there. They will go past the luxury tax threshold for a special player like cole but they will NOT zoom past it to sign bumgarner as well. Remember the lux tax is a progressive tax and goes up exponentially each year they are above it. Not even the Yankees can afford to stay in lux tax land for long. They also have some good young hitters who are going to want to get paid soon. So yes, my head is fully examined (its fine) and I disagree with your predictions whole heartedly.
Who’s this Servino chap? Another signing?
Yankees fans, ladies and gentlemen
I’ve seen plenty of people from all fanbases who are seriously lacking in grammar. Don’t generalize
Montgomery
Want Chris Davis?
Yeah go ahead and spend that billion dollars…..LMFAO at the crowd on here that has no concept of economics..
hope he brings the trash cans
All teams steal signs, every single one. And, you can’t blame players for the actions of their employers.
you’re right, the employers were banging the trash cans, bring the Astros GM and owners too
Let it go
Where’s your proof? Oh, right, you have none. You sound silly. You can blame someone doing something for doing something illegal, whether their employer tells them to or not. No one is forced to do something illegal. Not even in baseball.
how I it illegal? I believe it’s against baseball rules but that’s far from breaking a law. Baseball is kind of unique in that they are above the law, players fight and don’t get prosecuted, people intentionally throw a ball at another player attempting to hit them
That was not meant to be in response to you, Mo.
The organization very obviously cheated. Might as well just accept it.
Don’t bother talking sense with these idiots. They think trash can… hahahaha it’s kinda sad really
@Dodgethis
You might be right but how many of them are using illegal cameras? THAT”S the point.
the trash cans were only helping astros hitters, not pitchers, get your troll right
Astros fan detected.
Still an egregious cheat, and embarrassing. “Wahhhh my team finally won, and now we get this giant asterisk. Wahhhh.”
Remember how Yankees fans trashed him two years ago at the idea of their team trading for such an average mediocre pitcher lol? he should go somewhere he’s actually going to be appreciated
He’s a very different pitcher. Andujar was highly touted.
Smh, rough take
Dude had a 4.26 ERA then.
One of the many reasons the traditional crowd doesn’t believe in analytics being the be all end all.
I think you have that bass ackwards with the reasoning dude
Plus, he had given up a lot of homeruns in 2017. Big worrying factor when you have to play half your games in a pitcher friendly park.
But it was a one-year outlier coming after several seasons of 2.xx to 3.xx era…. it wasn’t like he threw 6 years in a row with a career 4.xx era.
You mean like zack wheeler has? Can we please stop using era as the only indicator of pitching success? Such a simplistic myopic view of pitching.
Where did I say it was the ONLY one?
@hzt502
Remember when the Yanks gambled their 1st round pick on him hoping he would sign a high over slot bonus? Grow up. Cole knows they want him.
appears he just doesn’t want them.
The fact that the Yankees are willing to go this far and this coming off the heels of their meeting yesterday tells me that they have been given the idea that for the right price he would be more than happy to sign with the Yankees.
So Hal gave the ok for a “record setting offer”…. that’s cover for saying let’s offer him 218m do we have cover with the fans. Then if he signs we’ll just look for a technicality and try to cancel the backend of his deal.
I dunno, I just don’t see them bidding high enough.
Guarantee they offer at least $240MM. If they back off after that and let the Angels take over, I’m good with that.
It’s time for NY to get back to what they’re capable of.
They have the income/fan base. Just spend. There’s not enough time left in this CBA to trigger max penalties, and, the players union will point to the chilling effect on salaries as a reason it needs a total revamp anyways.
Go back to what worked, spend baby spend.
“Go back to what worked, spend baby spend.”
I agree. Worked for the ’18 Sox. Glad to see you’ve come around.
I’ve never been in denial, unlike some others on that point.
Without the financial ability to cut bait on hanley/pablo and just absorb the losses, the team wouldn’t have been as competitive.
Other teams could’ve done the same through the years and chose not to. I think it was good for the sport, and good for RS fans, to see an ownership willing to leverage it’s money the way it did.
@AtlSoxFan
So the Ellsbury situation is now the narrative of who the Yanks are now? If so, I have a list of other disappointing FA I wish the Yanks would’ve tried to void to. Stop being silly. Once is an occurrence not a behavior?
It’s something they will need to answer to when courting every FA for the next couple cycles, especially with player distrust of ownership at one of the all-time highpoints.
With the dispute I’d bet they dont want to give many details, and/or realistically cant, but, as a player wanting to look out for their own long-term health (including after the game) I don’t think it should be casually dismissed.
I do not think the push is coming from the Yankees as much as the insurance policy holder trying to negate their obligations and are doing legal song and dance.
Keep thinking this will effect free agency. It really won’t, if you think free agents are going to consciously eliminate the biggest spender in sports history, you’re brain dead.
The Yankees didn’t have insurance covering Ellsbury’s last season from my understanding- I thought that’s why they released him
He’s a hater, not a true baseball fan, his comments clearly define that.
LMFAO ,,,another mind reader.
I’ll actually be shocked if the Yankees don’t sign him.
Exactly. This is an easy match.
prepare to be shocked.
uh oh
honestly Angel’s need to step back from this one… just like every big signing you will regret the last half of it.. please just get a MadBum, Keuchel, catcher and let’s move on from Cole
I could see Strasburg going there
that’ll take ya from 72-90 to 79-83.
In 2019 sure, but the 2020 record could be anything. There is no statistic that will predict future records. It’s all guesswork. Otherwise, everyone would already know who wins every season and there would be no point in actually playing the game.
Sure it does not look like Houston is regretting Justin Verlander. Garrett Cole has that same kind of make up
Cole please go west young man. any team in the west. dont go to New Yuck. high taxes, horrible traffic, cold weather, etc.
I mean, California has a lot of traffic and high taxes too
Can’t teach stupid right @ericm25
I’m not worried about taxes and traffic with 100 mil in my bank. The cold come winter I’m living on my yacht some place till spring.
@eric didn’t California just make murder legal?
dont know but new yuck is just the same.
What!!??
Yes , but only for homeless people and right after they take a shat in the street.. NY more worried about plastic straws and BIG sodas. Just wait till AOC puts a wealth tax on him.
Some people like it. I don’t understand why, but they say they do.
Quality of life I just couldn’t ever tolerate NYC. Ignore even the cost, I just don’t like that concrete jungle and density.
That said, Metro LA isn’t a heck of a lot better, but, at least you get the beaches/ocean/eye candy.
Some place like Laguna Niguel is only about 30 miles or so from Anaheim and it ain’t exactly the same as living in downtown L.A LOL
Cole is a SoCal native so I’m sure he’s familiar with the traffic, taxes and everything else.
I believe he’s from Newport Beach.
It ain’t a bad place to be from if you’re rich LOL
7 years 263 million
realistically 5 yrs. $155M is tops any team should pay for Cole.
Probably but I can definitely see something stupid happening like 37 million a year
I see more like 32-33 per
7 years at 33 = 241$ million… not a small chunk of change, think he gets more though given next years FA class is so bad.
I think he also goes 8 years… maybe even a vesting 9th or an option 9th with a buyout attached to seal the deal
nowheretogobutup
He deserves more than Greinke’s annual/
You’re not very smart. $155 million. You just everyone dumber
“You just everyone dumber”
The rich get richer. We should not even play the season, just give the division up to the Evil cc Empire. I understand why Boone went to the meeting, but Cashman is the heart of the NYY, excellent GM n the one who got the players to keep the NYY on top of the division, he’s brilliant. Boone doesn’t thrill me at all, nice guy, that’s bout it, Cashman is the brains.
Aren’t you a Red Sox fan???? You don’t get to ever complain about spending or “the evil empire” again after the last two decades of the Red Sox absolutely SELLING OUT for championships and fans like you cheering it all the way
Think you might want to check your facts Cochise Selling out of the the last two decades when the only time the Red Sox had a higher payroll then the Yankees was the last two years. The reality is the only time the the Red Sox had the highest payroll in baseball was the last two years.
Let’s put it in perspective…
The RS won 4 WS from 2004-present. Here’s where payroll fell, excluding adjustments for trades:
2004 – BOS 125m, mlb highest was NYY just under 183m
2007 – BOS 143m, mlb highest was NYY just under 19m
2013 – BOS 150m, mlb highest was NYY just under 229m
2018 – BOS led mlb
Now, for reference, 2015 LAD had a 273m opening day payroll, I believe the highest non-adjusted for inflation ever.
From 2000-present, NYY led mlb in payroll 14 years, LAD led 4 years, BOS led 2 years. (Based on opening day)
Honestly though, as some of the biggest markets out there, I think that’s about where it should be.
2007 – should read 190m for NYY
You don’t need to have the highest payroll. Its about buying players. Fact is, the Yanks have been out on top free agents ever since maybe Ellsbury.
You know you can just edit your posts, right?
Not if you don’t catch the mistake more than 5 min later… or at least, not through a phone more than 5 min later
Yes I am a RS fan but I admire brilliance too, n Boone not one of them.
Hey, Cashman called us the Golden State Warriors, I hadta agree n have a good laugh, so lighten up!
The race to 300m. Here’s hoping; at least for Cole’s sake!
I guess if they pay him enough he will be willing to shave and get a haircut, LOL.
I can only hope other teams push the bidding up and he gets 260+ million dollars; then falls apart at some point in the next 3-4 years. I have no expectation he will; but there’s not much else to hope for here. The Yankees have the games largest financial capacity; the only hope to ever see them decline is if they bind themselves up with gigantic deals. Bind themselves up w the deals and also restrict their luxury tax spending.
They’ve been doing a good job of keeping the luxury tax spending down lately. Have to hope that will continue.
I wouldn’t count on that as they have at least $70 million coming off the books after 2020, and possibly close to $90 million if Happ doesn’t trigger his 2021 option. They’d be in an even better position if they hadn’t acquired Stanton, who they didn’t really need.
While the team will get more expensive over the next few years with the young players approaching free agency, I don’t see them giving Sanchez a long-term deal. Judge, yes. Torres, yes, but not Sanchez.
all of that will be needed to sign Judge and Torres and 0% chance Happ doesn’t invoke his option , hell he will be closing in on 40.
Lots of pre-arb guys are in line for BIG paydays in coming years. It’ll be interesting to see how that calculus is handled down the road, I think a mega deal for a pitcher plus Stanton will complicate things, but, there is a 2 year window where it won’t be too bad. Money will come off the books, but,replacements will be needed as well.
Next year you have Ellsbury, Tanaka and possibly Happ coming off the books, that’s over 60 mil right there just for those 3.
But you’re also needing to replace 2 SP in happ and tanaka in an era when cole hamels pulled down 18m for age 36, and Zach wheeler with the extensive injury history pulled, what, nearly 24m per?
Yes, there’s arms on the farm. But then again, the success rate for them to stick in the bigs, especially as rookies on a team that will be in win-now mode while it’s core is in its prime isn’t great.
Likely most of that money goes back into rotation help.
AtlSoxFan
Next year is the reason why they need to go hard for Cole. Next year the only pitchers guarantee to be under contract are Severino, German and Montgomery. They need a top FOR now.
I agree.
I also don’t see hal as willing to spend like the Boss, which, I also think is why we haven’t seen a yankees team able to get over the top.
It’s only a guess based on hal’s MO up to this point, but, if the Boss was around he’d tell cashman “we need Cole. Take his best offer and add 5m. I want him.”
Hal is more of a “well, I’ll go to $x××x…. and not a penny more, no matter what”
Sometimes you just need to open the checkbook, it’s not like they can’t afford it. They just *think* they can’t because they self impose a limit.
If the boss was around judge, Sanchez, and Severino would be on another team, and the Torres trade would never happen.
Screw draft position, they need Cole.
I’ll believe it when Cole is signed.
Angels need to come in tomorrow and say hey Cole here 7/266. Club option of 40 mil 8th year with a 15 million buyout.
Sounds good to me.
angels
It’s “ominous” David Price’s “record breaking contract’ is being referenced. LOL
Caveat Emptor
This has Boras written all over it. Yankees wouldn’t leak a sentiment like being willing to break the record to sign.
It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Cole is going to exceed Price’s contract. No point in dancing around it. It’s what the market will bear. Yankees want Cole.
I’m interested to see if he’s the same pitcher outside of Houston. He was slightly above LA in Pitt and then miraculously lights out in Houston. If you think stealings signs is the only form of cheating going down in Houston.
If the Yankees want him, it’s hard to see how they can get outbid. As an Astros fan, I just wish he ended up in the NL. I do not want to face him twice in a playoff series.
I think it will be interesting to see how long he stays on the market. Players are going off the board quick.
We already knew the Yankees were prioritizing Gerrit Cole. This isn’t news. So many people acting like it’s a slam dunk just because they had a meeting. They can brown nose him all they want. Doesn’t mean a thing
The NYY are waiting for the Red Sox to trade Betts to them for a player to be named later? LOL
NYY gets Betts, Cole and Bumgarner this off-season?
And a $300M payroll.
LOL
Only kidding.
Well, there it is folks… Cole is going to the Yankees, and Arte is going to cry fouls play by Scott Boris (again).
The team with 103 wins last year really doesn’t need to do much to stay in the playoff hunt, but I see Cole going to the Yanks, Angels or Dodgers.
Cuz it’s not only about making the playoffs. They become AL favorites by removing him from the Astros and trash cans
Cashman has Ahab madness and even has convinced Hal to write him a blank check. I can see 7/35 w/ a 35/15 club option for an 8th year that includes trade control for Cole and a Cole opt out after 4th year. That is a 7/265 record contract. I can not see the Angels going 8/270.
Cuz it’s not only about making the playoffs. They become AL favorites by removing him from the Astros and trash cans
The New York Yankees have “ownership-level approval” to offer Gerrit Cole a record-breaking contract in free agency, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Passan added the Yankees identified Cole as “their clear offseason priority.”
3/90 will be yanks offer.
Why was Pettiitte there? What credibility does he bring. Did he say “ hey this is how you cheat and this is how you mis-remember.” When they showed up with him Cole should of got up and walked out. He was smart thou and stroked them along so he can get more $$$ out of SoCal.
@crazylarry
Pettitte was involved in the Cole discussions primarily because Cole idolized Pettitte as he was growing up (he’s been a huge Yankees’ fan forever), and Pettitte is also a special advisor to the GM. Former players with that title usually help recruit free agents and let them know what it’s truly like to put on the pinstripes. That’s why he was involved.
Some fan thoughts blow my mind. A minority speak very loudly, that the Yankees can’t land a big free agent. Dont do it for a few years, lose one to another team and suddenly the narrative goes from how the Yankees buy all their championships to now they can’t sign big FA’s.
The Yankees still have all that money behind them. They still keep a large payroll.
If they are simply being more targeted then it makes since to go all in for Cole and not so much for Corbin. Corbin is a strong no.2 pitcher who is close to being an ace. Cole is one of the top 3 pitchers in baseball. There’s a good amount of seperation between the two.
Another team is probably willing to offer a record setting deal as well. If not, Cole better get a shave and a haircut cuz he’ll be a yankee!
Cole may be open to playing on the east coast (and I think he probably is), but what about his wife? Wives have a say in this. Just look at Zach Wheeler. He had a higher offer from the White Sox, but signed with the Phillies because it was closer to his wife’s home of New Jersey. His wife didn’t want to move. Cole’s wife is from California. Her parents & three siblings all live in California. Does she prefer to go home? The Yankees might need to convince her more than they do Gerrit
Geography location is not an issue. MLB has already reported that during the meeting with the Yankees Cole in fact told them he does not have any West Coast preference and in fact told them that was all drawn up by the media. This could have a lot to do with YMLB.com insiders said the meeting between Cole and the Yankees went very well. As far as his wife is concerned from what I understand his wife is on board with whatever he decides. One thing that came out is that Garrett comes from a wealthy family and they are saying that while he will get a record contract other factors other than money could play a big part. My guess is he is going to want to be on a team that he knows has a chance to win a World Series which in my opinion puts the Dodgers and Yankees far ahead of the Angels.
I think if it’s close then he will be on the West Coast but if the Yankees outbid then he will be a Yankee.
Cole is the perfect fit for the NNY or Dodgers.
Hey Connor, perhaps MLBTR can do a comprehensive guide to interpreting reports like this, because this sure as heck wasn’t a Yankees leak. This only works to help Cole/Boras and it suggests they’re interested in motivating another team (or teams). ESPN did a piece on this topic but you guys can likely do it better.
This is just a no brainer…. any other chatter is a distraction to the point. Sign cole (don’t mess with his delivery repertoire or anything else) and plan a couple of parades
The Yankees signing every top free agent every year, regardless of need or cost, is a “no brainer” to Yankees fans and the media that fawn over them.
So outbid us.! it’s called free agency. The Yankees need Cole and will pay. You guys need him and won’t…..like machado last year
It’s either. Yankees or Dodgers. The angels only have money to offer. As important as that is. They won’t be winning anything. Cole can get same money and an opportunity to win. If dodgers outbid the Yankees the Yankees will switch to Strasburg if he goes back to the Nationals Then at least the Yankees will stay under the cap
7-$250
Cole
Pax
Severino
Tanaka
German/Happ/Montgomery/deivi Garcia
Even Astros sign stealing schenanigans wouldn’t beat that rotation.
Get it done, and let’s get this championship.
Yankees 2020
Must be nice to have the financial wherewithal to always be in the slot position to snare a top free agent every year. Steinbrenner’s international shipping business must be doing very well.