The Yankees will have to give in to the right-hander’s requests if they want to keep him on their roster.
He New York Yankees ace, Gerrit Coleactivated his termination clause this Saturday, leaving the board with a crossroads to add one year and $36 million to his contract, which would extend the agreement to five years for $180 million.
At 34 years old, Cole has been a workhorse for the Yankees since his arrival in 2020, and his work from the mound has consolidated him as one of the most feared arms of the American League.
You might be interested in: Gerrit Cole: From a child fan at Yankee Stadium to a star starter for the Yankees in the World Series
Winner of the prestigious Cy Young In 2023, Cole was coming off a solid campaign, although the 2024 season played a trick on him as an elbow injury kept him off the diamond for the first two months.
Upon his return, he showed that he still had firepower in his arm, making 17 starts and recording a respectable effectiveness of 3.41. In 95 innings, he accumulated 99 chocolates, walked 29 and allowed 11 homers.
The Yankees management has until Sunday to decide whether to invalidate the Cole termination clausewhich would ensure the organization its ace for five seasons and avoid a void in its rotation.
Sources indicate that the Yankees could be inclined to add the $36 million to retain Cole, a pillar that would maintain stability in the rotation and avoid losing power in the pitching.
If the Yankees decide not to exercise the option, Cole would become free agentjoining a list of top starting pitchers on the market, with names like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Yusei Kikuchi, Nick Pivetta and the former Yankee Luis Severino.
Besides, Sean Manaea He also opted out of his contract with the Mets, increasing the attractiveness of the class of pitchers available.
Cole reached the Yankees in 2020 with the largest contract in history for a pitchersigning for nine years and $324 million.
Since then, he has remained in the elite, standing out in the vote of the Cy Young and taking the award in 2023 after a season in which he commanded the American League with a 2.63 ERA and led with 209 innings pitched.
Although the speed of his straight has slowed slightly—averaging 1 mph lower than in 2023 and 2 mph lower than in 2022—its varied repertoire, which includes a curve, slider, cutter y speed changecontinues to dominate the hitters.
During the 2024 postseasonCole was the mainstay on the mound in five starts, in which he posted a 2.17 ERA in 29 innings, with 22 strikeouts and only one home run allowed.
With a history of playoffs including an 11-6 record and a 2.77 ERA in 22 starts, the right-hander has earned a reputation as a reliable pitcher in moments of maximum pressure.
The Yankees decision regarding Cole will not only define the pitcher’s future in New Yorkbut also the direction of a rotation that seeks to maintain its power and aspire to the title in the coming seasons.
