After a 2018 offseason that saw them largely sit out the open market auctions for Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, it appears as if the Yankees will take a more active role in pursuing a top free agent in the 2019 offseason. According to Andy Martino of SNY.tv, the “early feel” from conversations with sources is that the New York organization will at least “engage” with Astros ace Gerrit Cole this winter. At the same time, Martino downplays the likelihood of a successful pursuit.
The Yankees-Cole connection is a longstanding one, so it’s no surprise to see it continue now that Cole is nearing the open market. It was Yankees GM Brian Cashman, after all, that almost landed Cole from the Pirates in 2017–although Pittsburgh ultimately passed on a trade package that was said to center around outfielder Clint Frazier. The Yankees also pursued Cole, a lifelong Yankee fan, back in 2008 when it made him the 28th overall pick in the Rule IV draft (Cole ultimately opted to attend UCLA). After two near-misses, the 2019 offseason should offer Cashman his clearest shot yet at bagging the now-29-year-old Cole.
It’s obvious there’s some level of interest. But it’s equally clear there are significant barriers to Cole donning pinstripes. The New York org could find itself bidding against numerous other teams for Cole’s services, many of which play in or near his native Southern California. And luxury tax implications could prove fateful here. While the Yankees could clear roughly $30MM off 2019’s salary outlay merely by letting CC Sabathia, Dellin Betances, Brett Gardner, and Didi Gregorius head for other pastures, the club would still have some bending to do if it wanted to both sign Cole and avoid a second consecutive year paying CBT overages.
The Yankees already have over $130MM in salary commitments on the books for 2019 before accounting for forthcoming arb raises (including those for Aaron Judge and James Paxton). Since they exceeded the luxury tax line by more than $20MM and paid a 20% overage with a 12% surcharge in 2018, they would incur a 30% tax on every dollar spent over the CBT threshold in 2020 if they again exceed the line, per terms agreed to as part of the 2016 CBA. Still, it’s worth noting that these considerations apparently won’t count the New York powerhouse out of the Cole sweepstakes unequivocally–even if Cashman will have to pull on his creative reserves to make such an acquisition feasible.
STOP IT
Yawnkees. Next!
In other news, water is wet.
Isn’t the it the theory that water just feels wet but isn’t actually wet?
My head just exploded…..
This, water is in fact, by definition, not wet.
Water isn’t wet. Water leaves you feeling wet.
false
Get a thesaurus kid.
So the Jays arent interested?
LOL!
Boras is going to go for the money in long drawn out negotiations, the Yankees will drive up the price and that means unless Cole overrides Boras, Cole is going to the Yankees.
If Cole signs early, he’ll sign with the Angels. If he signs well into next year, he’ll sign with the Yankees.
Just my prediction.
I wish people would stop calling big free agents a “sweepstakes.” In a sweepstakes, you win money, in free agency you dole out money. It is not a sweepstakes, it’s more like buying a car. Sorry to be pedantic, but it’s just a pet peeve of mine.
Fifteen years ago the Angels won the Vlad sweepstakes. Seven years ago they lost the Hamilton sweepstakes.. Some people will say they lost the Pujols sweepstakes, but the Angels singed a 3 billion dollar TV contract right after signing Pujols, so they may have won that sweepstakes as well.
Sweepstakes seems appropriate. But no one will know who will win/lose this sweepstakes for years.
Angels, for sure.
Being an Angel fan, I hope you are right. But I’m not so confident.
Lefty has said it so often and with such conviction I’m beginning to think it’s already been signed. Lol
I do hope you’re right though.
Angels 7/$235-240 is my guess.
Lol it’s almost certainly the Yankees or the Phillies. More money and better teams.
Philly won’t bid that high lol. They’ll probably sign Strasburg or Wheeler.
Not a NYY fan, but will be sad Popeye is leaving, he was a pesky player who drove teams nuts . Isn’t making it known you want to sign Cole the same thing as tampering?
Why do the Yankees care about the luxury tax? They’re loaded. Exceeding the line where your top draft pick drops by 10 spots is one thing but if all they have to do is pay more money I feel like their reaction should be “We’ll pay that **** too!”
@Show Me Your Tatis
I kind of agree with you but if it’s 30% of a $250 mil signing then what they are actually paying is $325 mil with that $75 mil going to small market teams you’re competing against. That kind of sucks. I’m thinking that’s how it works. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong. I think lux tax money is distributed to lower revenue teams.
@ south beach
Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t thing the luxury tax works like that. The tax isn’t on the entire new contract, it’s on team payroll above the tax line (2020 is $208m)
@5toolMVP
I think the Yanks are already over the lux line so anything they spend right now is attached to a 30% tax . Maybe it’s not taxed for the total value but the year to year average?
Everything above 208m is the first level tax. Above 228 second level and 248 3rd level where your draft spot goes down 10 places and you love international funds. It’s not on value if new contract it’s your total on any given year.
The luxury threshold is based on AAV, not payroll. There is a difference.
If a team signs a player to a 5 years 100 million dollar contract, where he gets 10 million the first year and 30 million the last year, 20 million will be applied to the threshold for every year of the contract. . There also some other fees that go into the luxury threshold but I’m not quite sure what they are.
Bottom line, it’s not based on payroll.
Yeah, they pay a smaller percentage of revenue on the payroll than most teams in baseball money should be no issue.
Lest we forget, 2018 was all about the Yankees staying under the tax to reset their rate so they could spend big with the great 18/19 free agent class….or to save the Steinbrenner family some cash. One or the other
@AlvaroEspinoza That’s what the media said but I don’t think the Yanks made declarations of ready to spend “stupid money” or go for multiple FA like we see in the NBA/Knicks every few summers.
I thought it was odd that the Yanks didn’t show any interest in any FA other than Corbin, and obviously they had a “line in the sand”: on where they were willing to go with him. But I guess they wanted to give Frazier a shot to claim LF and had Andujar, Didi and Torres to cover SS/3B. I guess there’s something to say about giving the young guys a shot over a FA. It’s kind of what most other teams do and kind of what fans were clamoring for years ago.
Theres something to say about starting tulo at short.
You’re obviously not a shareholder.
@pasha2k
How is it tampering? Cashman nor any Yankee official was quoted saying anything at all. But I think it’s obvious and I don’t think it effects any other bidders. It’s kind of like saying “water’s wet”. Not really breaking news. Just look around mlb for teams that need pitching and can afford him. Slow news day.
Popeye?
Roid man
To angel……Gardner=Popeye
They didnt make it known. “Major league sources” did. And everyone knows theyre interested. Theyre interested in everybody for the right price.
In other breaking news, Julius Caesar is still dead.
Last year a lot of people thought the Yankees were interested in Machado but in reality they made no effort.
When you hear a team such as the Yankees are in, it makes a difference. Just because it isn’t a surprise doesn’t mean I’m not interested in knowing.
Yea but top 5 pitchers in baseball tend to peak the Yankees interest. And they have been after him for nearly a decade.
Angels, for sure.
Padres / White Sox / Twins / Phillies / Angels / Dodgers / Giants
All seem like teams that will want to upgrade.
Twins will not pay that large of contract.
Angels.
Every year we hear the Dodgers are signing the biggest Free Agent and they never do.
Right, it’ll be the Madden-led Angels.
The last thing the Dodgers need is Cole.
They can also save another $18 million if Chapman opts out, which I hope he does. That kind of $ for someone who only pitches 65 innings per year is ridiculous. Plus, Ellsbury and Tanaka ( approximately $45 million ) come off the books after 2020.
Ellsbury doesn’t count against the tax I don’t think.
Why wouldn’t he?
A quick google revealed.
Oct 01, 2018 · Jacoby Ellsbury’s salary didn’t go away for luxury tax purposes just because he’s injured and didn’t play.
Injured players salaries have always counted in payroll. Insurance compensation only goes to a Hal’s bottom line.
Hmm. I could’ve sworn that guys like Cespedes, Wright, Ellsbury etc. Didn’t go towards the cap. Thanks for the correction.
Add Happ which is another 17. I think Cashman will try to eat some money and trade him.
Not sure how much more he has to express that he doesn’t want to play there. Dare to dream though!
@imindless
I’m asking you an honest question. Please answer. Where oh where has he said ANYTHING publicly…a quote from him, that said he has ruled out the Yanks or any other non-west coast team? It seems counter-productive to publicly rule out 4 or 5 big spending teams. Not something Boras would condone imo.
He can’t it is logical gymnastics by people in California trying to convince themselves that Cole going to the Angels is a sure thing.
Prob from articles like this:
“”We know he wants to be a West Coast guy,” Astros outfielder Josh Reddick told Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller. “
@vtncsc
I read it but that’s not Cole saying it. In actuality, I have to think that was said in jest. If not, that’s an incredible thing for one teammate to say about another teammate headed into FA while the focus should be on winning a world series. Further, have we EVER heard one player PUBLICLY (as opposed to being an “unnamed source) state ANY business of another player???? That seems unprofessional and certainly if taken as being a real statement can cause a club-house distraction. I saw an interview after one his starts where reporters asked something about destinations as a FA and he quickly shut that down and turned back to the quest to win a chip.
Reminiscent of Giants fans last year swearing they were getting Harper because he was quoted as saying “he loved San Francisco”.
No doubt that Boras has told Cole not to say anything about where he would want to pitch next year.
They will use the Yankees to drive the price up.
He will want to play on the west coast and sign with one of the four teams in California unless the Yankees go bonkers and bid against rhemselves..
I wonder if Cashman wishes that he would have met what the Pirates wanted two years ago?The Yankees may very well have won both crowns.
I also remember yankee fans thinking ohtani was theres well guess what? First one out of the sweepstakes. You can undervalue what he has shown to be the accurate didnt want to play for yankees the first time they drafted him. Also wouldnt give yankees assurance that he would sign extension and so he got delt to astros. The money will be there from many teams and i don’t think there will be a sizable gap between each one so he can simply choose a destination he likes. He has already said it would be great to have his mom there at all his home games.
Angels are the most likely landing spot he is a Newport Beach kid with that said if NY offers 275/8 and just blows other teams away he will be a Yankee. If it’s close I’m guessing he goes the So Cal Route.
Halos, spot on!
To Old. The Angels will have a decent team if they can get that guy to stop giving Narcs to the players. But seriously, they could have a few good pitchers.
Players care about getting paid, not playing where they grew up.
Just saying If it’s close he will choose the Angels. If an East Coast team blows him away then he will go play there.
If it’s close he chooses the Yankees, because he grew up by a fan.
I have never seen or heard him being a fan of the yankees. Literally searched it on google nothing came up not even tmz sports reported it. I also remember ohtani was suppose to go to the yankees howd that work out?
You must not have searched very well then. All during the postseason, they showed a picture of Cole at a Yankees home game as a kid saying he is a Yankee fan for life.
People said this about Corbin. Why is 35% of the comment section always people acting like they know the player.
Padres458, Good God quite apropos. Don’t forget the 35% who act like they know someone in an MLB organization.
Thetruth you must not of read the article very close because it says he was also an Angel fan. New York or California for a kid that grew up in Newport Beach? Hmmm I’m guessing unless the Yankees blow the west coast offers out of the water it will be a west coast team.
Not at all. Lol it’s almost certainly the Yankees or the Phillies. More money and better teams.
Except the Phillies stink.
You come across and either a yankee homer or a troll. Yankees with him still aren’t beating the astros minus him. I swear yankees fans are some of the most volatile people on earth on par with most laker fans.
Unless Houston can adequately fill Cole’s void, Yankees can and probably would beat the pants off Houston rolling a rotation of Verlander, Greinke, Peacock and Whitley, if that.
Uber, uber, uber… lol
The Yankees make like over $600 million in revenue this excuse that they can’t afford to pay the luxury tax is bs. George Steinbrenner would spend the money when there is an opportunity to win hopefully Hal follows that.
George was a psychopathic maniac with bipolar disorder. No one should care what he would have done.
^^^
This Yanks didn’t exactly prosper under George after 1981. How many over the hill FA did he sign? How many prospects were traded for the likes of guys like Ken Phelps? It was not a good time from 82-94. .
Cole will end up being a halo.
I think you are overlooking Moreno vs Boras. Their negotiation styles don’t mix.
Boras will do what Cole wants. If he wants to be an Angel he will be. Boras was Jered Weavers agent and Moreno worked with him because it’s what Weaver wanted.
Top free agents pitching:
Cole/Angels
Bumgarner/phillies
Hamels/padres
Strasburg (depending on ws outcome) padres
Wheeler/yankees
Wheeler will get annihilated in the ALE
Chris Archer went from the ALE to NLC and based on your thinking Archer should have improved.
White Sox Madison and Wheeler then J.D. for DH Right field Nick Castellanos
The White Sox have cash to spend this off-season!
I think the Phillies get 2 of them. I hope Hamels and one of the others. But they need more than just 1.
Lol Cole us going to a team with the best chance to win and that gives him the most money. That won’t be the Angels.
65 million is space this upcoming year, they have enough. Yankees gotta pay judge and torres soon. Angels really on need 1/2 pitchers and they can compete.
Do some research about the Yankees first before posting this junk. “Yankees gotta pay Judge and Torres soon” First of all not anything major in 2020, and secondary the Yankees have huge money coming off the books after 2020.
Why would the Phillies sign a back end starter?
Ahhhh that time of the year again where the Yankees are “expected” to pursue every top free agent, and then proceed to get none of them. Haha Slow news days I guess.
@trevorreed
I guess going a couple of years without getting the biggest FA must feel like a lifetime for some. Corbin was the only FA the Yanks pursued last year and if I remember. they walked away from the table. It’s not like they LOST a FA to anyone recently. Other than Corbin, Lee and Halladay are the only ones that come to mind. Maybe Johan Santana.
Yanks made a better offer for Santana to the twins than the Mets made, but twins refused to trade him there out of spite.
Shohei ohtani comes to mind, mike trout.
Mike Trout, wtf are you talking about?
easy to clear space. trade Happ. somebody will take salary. we may eat a lot, but it will clear space
They can pursue. He will not engage.
Yeah because Boras clients are known to be sentimental and not care about money.
I think Cole ends in California
I’m shocked the Patriots haven’t traded for him yet
Yankees or Astros if they want to open up the vault,
Thanks Captain obvious
As they should.. Angels and Padres are likely to pursue Cole. I also wouldn’t rule out LAD.
Would you sign with the Angles if you were Gerritt Cole??? Pujols did. C. J. Wilson did. Simmons did. Hamilton did. They all sat cozy in their own home watching the play-offs on their televisions and eating their home cooked popcorn!!!!
Simmons did not sign with the Angels. Vlad did.. MVP. Colon did Cy Young.
Pujols is thrilled the signed with the Angels. So is CJ Wilson. Hamilton.. not so much. So if Cole is going to take drugs, then please don’t sign with the Angels.
Yup Trout hates there so much he signed another extension. Horrible place to play lol.
And he ismt going to the playoffs in the next 5 years.
@uncle mike
Yeah but the TV was more like an outdoor television with a retractable 201-inch screen and the chef they flew in to cook his popcorn was topping it off with foie gras and gold-leaf, covered in caviar, lobster shavings, truffles, Gruyere cheese melted with champagne steam and BBQ sauce made with Kopi Luwak coffee.
I mean if Pujols is anywhere close to being a modest multi-millionaire, he probably hasn’t even put a dent in all the money he made while back with the Cardinals.
So yeah, signing a $200 mil dollar deal isn’t exactly a bad thing, regardless of who he signs with. But I guarantee you he will demand a no-trade clause if he signs with a team whose determination to win might be iffy. But it would be a crying shame if the Angles do nothing after signing Trout to that record breaking extension.
I think Trout is the reason why the Angels will be going after pitching and a catcher this year. I’m guessing it came up in extension negotiations and Arte must have sold Trout that’s why I expect them to be real active this offseason.
I think he resigns with Astros.
He’s a Cali boy. Not happening.
Yet he grew up a Yankees fan hmmmm
The Yankees need Cole for sure!!!
He will look great next to Machado and Harper in New York.
really? no sh$! who didn’t expect them to
My money is on the Phillies if an east coast team is able to money whip him. Cashman has already been there and done that. He’s too smart.
If Cashman can’t land a big time SP either via trade or free agency, he should be fired. Don’t get me wrong, he has done a good job for a long time but a good job for a long time is not enough for the Yankee dynasty. His failure to get an impact SP over the past few years (besides Paxton) is very surprising, especially considering that the Astros have acquired the biggest pitching prize at the deadline for 2 of the last 3 years. Not to mention getting Gerrit Cole in the off-season.
@throwinched10
You can certainly critique Cash for not getting Cole if all that stood in the way was Frazier. Genereally, I’ll take the great pitcher over a prospect position player. Although the Cole we see is NOT the same Cole back when he was with the Pirates. But as for Greinke, it was never going to happen. It’s been discussed every single time he was either a FA or on the trade market. For that reason no can really blame Cashman for not moving on Greinke. Most of the other SP mentioned the last year really give you ZERO reason to fault Cash.. I mean if you want to by effort then shoot, Grey, Happ, etc were all moves to get a FOR 1 or 2 type. But Fulmer, Ray, Bauer, Kluber and Carrasco haven’t give Yanks fan any reason for regret. I guess you can say Stroman but I don’t think he’s any better than Tanaka in performance and his character, which I don’t mind, may not have gone over well. under the brighter lights of the Bronx where they have huge expectations. We’ll see.
I certainly understand what you are saying. I am also not a Yankees fan and therefore am trying to look at this through the bigger lens that is the MLB landscape. NYY, LAD, BOS, and now arguably HOU are the four organizations where “pretty good” is not good enough for the GM role.
Add Philadelphia and the Cubs to that list. Let’s call it, Too Big to Fail.
exactly- the Yankees are not the royals or tigers. making it to the playoffs in a world where you have a huge advantage is not a big deal.
That Cash has been to one ws in 15 years is pathetic
Wow so cool
My money is on him landing with the Marlins
I was just going to post that with all the ridiculous other suggestions. Why not?
One piece of information this article fails to take into account the Yankees will have $45 million coming off their books for the 2020 season so they could spend the money that Cole and his agent want and still not be higher salary than they were last season. They could also add another bullpen piece as well as a contact minded hitter to the roster and just be over the luxury tax threshold by about 10 million which would only be a $3 million luxury tax bill.
Cashman” Hey Gerrit. We drafted you so I think we deserve a discount.” Boras n Cole “Send us your final offer” Cashman”Highest I can go is gonna be 5yrs $125m. “We really should get that discount.”
Meanwhile the Yankees have that huge contract with Stanton then have to worry about paying their young guys in the future!
@BeeVeeTee
Money comes on…….money comes off. Money will be offset.
The kids will get their raises but Tanaka, Ellsbury, Britton, Happ, Chapman, Gardner, Ottavino, Britton and DJ come off the books in the next 2 years. That’s like $130m in annual salary that can offset the kids raises. I’m sure Cash will try and extend some of the kids to get a bit of a discount on FA years like they did with Severino. If Severino returns to 2017-18 form he would be severely underpaid for the next 3 years.
If you can’t beat em, buy em
@dwilson10
That’s the Yanks to almost a fault. The best way to guarantee the Yanks will chase you as a FA is to beat them consistently, especially in big games. Randy Johnson, Clif Lee, Roy Halladay and Roger Clemens are a good example. .
Breaking News:The Yankees want to Acquire Babe Ruth from The Cemetery at Hawthorne!
Yankees win Cole at the end.
Angels don’t push the envelope for a 8th year. Yankees are dumb enough to do it.
We settle for Wheeler, Ryu and Grandal. Have trade chips for the deadline, if we need to add another arm for a final push.
My hopeful projection.
You have no trade chips.
Boras is going to drag this to the end.. Yankees néed to BLOW away every teams offer with money 9/ $320 mil.. with NO TRADE Clause
Well that would do it. Would really suck for the Yankees if he blew his arm out though.
You beat me to it. That was my thought too
…until Hal finds out how much he wants and then tells Cashman to spin that Garcia is the ace that they need.
So many teams going to pursue Cole but because it is NY we have to have an article on it.
The MLBTR team was sitting on the couch with their Yankee banners and in their Yankee onesies, watching the Yanks lose to Houston…. what else is there to do now that the Yanks have been eliminated? They have to make plans for the Yankees next year. Baseball season is over for them.
maybe he signs with Yankees, then they get Bauer from Cincy, then both of them can continue their cute little “feud”….
In all reality only a couple of teams will make a,serious run at Cole because of the money demands that will be made. Over half of the teams will not be able to afford to pay him what he wants. Half of the teams left will not want to spend that much based on their existing payroll numbers. That will leave a handful to duke it out. I can hear Boras whining now about all of the other teams not wanting to meet the price and killing the bidding war.
I seriously doubt he would shave for $250 million
A “major league source” could be the guy cleaning the toilets at Yankee stadium, right?
Astoros are in the series, in the playoffs, mlb frowns upon transactions during fuss Time!
The Yankees haven’t even had their organizational planning meeting yet. This story is nonsense.
Of course the Yanks will kick the tires on Cole….PR and baseball wise they have too. As many have pointed out this article is common sense and premature. But why pass up a chance to mock Cashman???
Cash is just way too smart. Depth overrides talent when the goal is to win the summer. He has proven how adept he is at acquiring aces and top flight SP. I mean spending 36 mil last year on Happless CC and Gardy really mattered in October, right? my g-d who could have foreseen that?
Let’s be honest though- for the last 15 years the Yankees off season blue print has been exactly the same. Get 2 SP (an ace and a #2/3 type), and get 2 or 3 contact hitters. He did do it once in 09′ and shockingly they had a parade. other than that he has failed.
Cashman will go all out for Cole, he should get 7/235. If Cole stays on the west coast the Dodgers or Angels I would expect Strasburg or Wheeler would be next in line. The money will not be an isssue, since they have over 110 million coming off the books by 2021.
Who give a rats you know what! I don’t believe for a second the Yankees get Cole.
They keep bringing back Brett Gardner who cannot hit water if he fell outta a boat in the post season but they keep bringing him back.
Louie, I’ve been waiting for your input since Sunday. I was all over the debacle of putting CC on the ALCS roster, and of course we see how that turned out. I’ve also posted they’ll probably bring Gardner back, and of course the Cashman fanboys said “why not”. Look at where the Yankees payroll stands now, and tell me how they’re gonna spend to get Cole. Just win enough to keep the dollars rolling in to line Hals pocket is the new Yankee way.
We hope the KBO gets Yarreet Kowe.
I want to see the Seattle Mariners get Gerrit Cole by outbidding the Yankees. Seattle needs an ace and they have a solid list of top tier prospects ready to make the Mariners a contender for years to come
Here we go, another offseason of these stupid articles touting pipe dream scenarios. The Yankees will give a halfhearted attempt that wont be near reality , lose out and then say they tried, just like the past couple offseasons. The oficial reasoning will be too close to the luxury tax, and all the great “inhouse” candidates they supposedly have to make yet another mediocre rotation. Hal S. needs his DNA checked….
More like his profits
Pip Dream Scenarios! I love it a real Yankees fan who knows the truth.
Bring back Brett Gardner and call it a day cuz that’s all their really gonna do.
First of all Michael K has already reported the Yankees have 45 million coming off their books this season. Also most of those guys are not going to be retained the only one that is a given is Brett Gardner. Regardless whether they get coal or not they are going to need another starting pitcher all reports indicate Huber and Strausburg are going to opt out so they could get one of them as well. As far as Cole is concerned it’s going to come down between the Yankees and Dodgers because those are the only two organizations that will come close to what Boris wants.
It’s Cole, not coal and Kluber is not a free agent. They picked up his option for over 17 million so you could maybe trade for him. Hicks is going to miss most of next year so got to figure out CF
Actually you are missing the favorite to sign him which is the Angels so no it is not coming down to the Yankees and the Dodgers besides the Dodgers have given no indication they want to get in a bidding war for Cole. I’ll still stand by the Angels as Coles landing spot.
Dylan, check your years. The Yankees have $130mm spent for 2020 (you said 2019), and are $20mm over this year (you said 2018).