Where’s Gerrit Cole going to land? That’s what everyone wants to know. We’ve got a poll going this morning, but otherwise we’re eagerly awaiting the day’s news on the top free agent.
We’ll track the chatter here …
- The Cole sweepstakes is closing in on an ending, reports Heyman, who adds it would take “a major upset” for him to sign with someone other than the Yankees, Angels or Dodgers.
Earlier Reports
- There is “serious and intense” bidding going on for Cole, who looks more and more likely to reach an agreement at the Winter Meetings, Heyman tweets. It’s “likely” the Astros and the Giants are the mystery clubs in the Cole derby, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, though the sources he has spoken with have cast on doubt on the hurler ending up with either team. That seemingly leaves the Yankees, Angels and Dodgers to fight it out for Cole.
- The Astros may be one of the mystery teams, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who writes that they’re considering making a late charge to re-sign Cole. He was, of course, an enormously important part of the Astros’ pitching staff from 2018-19, and owner Jim Crane said last month the team would at least make an effort to keep him. Keeping Cole would likely at least push the Astros over the second level of the luxury tax ($228MM), as Sherman notes, but the reigning AL champions do have some holes in their rotation with him and Wade Miley as free agents. Perhaps a desire to keep Cole, AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke together atop the Astros’ staff will drown out any tax concerns for Crane.
- Agent Scott Boras confirmed recent reports that indicate a deal could come together quickly. He told reporters gathered for his annual media scrum that a decision may come “in the short term,” as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports (Twitter links). Boras also says there are two mystery teams involved in Cole’s market, though it’s not evident just what constitutes a mystery team from his perspective.
- Cole’s major pursuers are known (Angels, Yankees, Dodgers), along with a few lurkers (Rangers, Phillies). But there’s also a mystery team involved, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Heyman himself casts doubt upon the legitimacy of this unidentified organization, noting that it is difficult to envision a new entrant to the market vaulting past the existing bidders. Indeed, it is quite difficult to peg a serious bidder among the remaining teams around the league. There are certainly other contenders that would love to add Cole, but in every case there’s reason to question the plausibility. That said, there have been surprises in the past and nothing can be ruled out entirely until there’s a team announcement on a signing.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (via Twitter) that he has been given reason to believe that the Giants would represent “a desirable destination” from Cole’s perspective. But he says he is not aware whether the team is involved and cautions that he has no reason to believe the San Francisco organization is a serious possible landing spot for the right-hander.
Mystery Team is amazing – they always end up with everybody! Go Mystery Team!
The Toledo Mudhens possibly or maybe the Medford Rockets
The Tigers organization would turn him into an “opener” like they did with Jordan Zimmermann.
Or the Pomona-Pitzer Sage Hens
At least they’re in southern California.
Regardless of who the mystery team is (nobody!), the Nats really screwed the pooch for the entire market by giving Stras $40-50MM above market. What idiots!
Lou Brown still managing Toledo?
i tried to get in touch with lou…. he was on the other line selling some white walls
I hate the Yankees but he’s going to be a Yankee. They are trying to move J.A. Happy so they can give him a 8 year 300 million deal. That’s a lot of money for an elbow to hold up.
The Yankees called and advised that fear leads to hate (so you obviously fear them) and hate leads to suffering (and suffer you will).
Oh, and they hate you too.
All jokes aside, I sure as hell hope they don’t sign his elbow to 8/$300. Crazy and stupid.
Now it’s two mystery teams!
I got 2 … 2…2…. Do I hear 3???? 3???? 3????
He’s a West Coast guy using the Yankees to get Dodgers & Angels to go higher.
Yes he has
Wrong
Who grew up a big, die hard Yankees fan.
Not as many bandwagon fans.
I don’t wish harm on any player. Well there are a few I really dislike but not going to say names and no they aren’t all Yankee players. I can see this going very bad for the Yanks. I just don’t trust pitchers that much. They could be in the same boat Seattle was with Felix the last few years. Not that I mind but with no cap they go to the Fed Res and get one of those no interest you have to pay back but we will secretly give you another loan to pay off the first. Like the banks and Chevy Ford and other too big to fail Cos. Sorry it will never be a loan they will just give them more.
Serious though it might hurt a little but will not have any affect on them getting what they want. Too much stupid money. I wouldn’t mind the Mariner’s doing that though.
My mystery sources have mysteriously confirmed that the mystery team is in fact going to sign Gerrit Cole and you’ll be surprised when it is finally revealed who it may (or may not) be. Stay tuned.
Never mind. They also think it’s going to be the Yankees.
Spoiler alert please. I was on page 18 of the article slide show.
He’s signing a one year deal with a Japanese team to build his value for next year.
Pillow contract
50,000,000 pillow contract.
The surprise team is the Giants playing along with his college teammate and brother in law. Too many forget to mention those connections. And the Giants have money
Brandon Crawford won’t be around long enough to make it worth Cole’s while.
Still a goldglover
Not always.
Mystery Team < Mystery Dance.
Mystery Team is usually Boras, no?
Correct! Nobody believes a think Boris says.
No Cole has actually made comments to support what I’m saying himself
Every year a Boras free agent has some mystery team in pursuit. It’s his way of getting the bids up…so transparent.
Always. He throws that BS in every time
Has Scott Boras ever uttered the words “mystery team”?
If so, does anyone have a link to a direct quote or an audio/video recording?
Or is “mystery team” a media creation when someone — in or out of the Boras camp — says another team is interested?
What difference does it make? Boras is in the business of creating buzz for his client to ramp up the bidding as high as he can get it. All he needs to do is imply, through whatever means he uses, that another team, not being reported on by name, is in the running.
Scott Boras does not negotiate with the info-deprived fans who work themselves into a tizzy over media “leaks.” And baseball writers are desperate for copy this time of year.
For decades Boras has negotiated with teams experienced in negotiations with Boras and other player agents.
Just as Boras might not identify other suitors to a potential trade partner, the potential trade partner might not disclose to Boras alternative free agents under consideration.
It’s all in the art of negotiations.
No one suggested Boras negotiates with fans. It’s all strategy and the fans fall for it as does the media reporting it.
I’d like to know. Thought that was interesting muskie
Yes he has
When and where has Scott Boras uttered the words “mystery team”?
I am genuinely curious.
Still a gold glover
Oh but you are the one that knows nothing at all. The Giants rumor was going around all last season. You must be from the East Coast
I never take the mystery team seriously until I get confirmation of a Mystery Machine sighting meaning Scooby and the gang are on the case.
Love this!!!
And mystery team would have signed him if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!
Mystery Team owner
Scott Boras
Manager
John Heyman
Lol
Dan, Boras always has mystery teams, not. I’m wondering why Boras is changing his pattern of waiting till spring training to have his clients signed? I can’t stand Noras, anyways.
I’ve got the mystery team jersey and hat, chicks love da mystery team
“Gerrit Cole wants to join my 4th place team because it’s near the beach” LOL
Funny because angels werent and arent a forth place team.
Funny because the Angels literally just finished in fourth place behind the Astros, Athletics, and Rangers
Almost a last place team.
haha maybe he meant theyre not 4th place in all of the league? in that sense they arent even close to 4th place
boom goes the dynamite.
Ouch. Probably should have fact checked before posting that.
I’m sorry. How are they not a 4th place team? And likely will be a 4th place team again.
That were and still are a 4th place team.
They actually were a fourth place team and won just four more games than last place Mariners.
couldn’t even spell fourth correctly
I know. Like he couldn’t afford 100 beach houses with the contract coming his way.
Pretty irrelevant how many beach houses he could afford. Playing in California is the only place he could actually enjoy said beach house after about half his games.
Right.
Because NYC and long Island aren’t on the ocean
Pretty sure NY has beaches considering one side of it is against the Atlantic ocean. In fact Long Island is surrounded by water and beaches.
Yeah I live in Baltimore. The season you can enjoy a beach house and the quality of the beaches on the Northern East Coast are not even comparable. If you want a beach house and you’re ultra rich it’s California or Florida. Don’t even start with comparing Long Island to anything on the West Coast. That’s a bit of a joke. There’s the Hamptons obviously but that’s not necessarily convenient to NYC.
Which is really probably irrelevant to begin with though because I doubt G Cole is picking a team based on his beach house. But maybe I’m wrong. But you know If he is; there’s no competition.
@jbigz -Speak for yourself.
There’s more to enjoy on a beach house than bikini clad women and suntans.
I lived 3 years on the ocean in Rhode Island and it’s refreshing to go for a morning walk in a windbreaker in the fall or spring. Beach walks in the winter are nice too with a mug of your favorite hot beverage in hand.
Snow storms on the waterfront are also pretty nice.
Honestly, I’d probably prefer oceanfront away from the hot coasts since you get more peacefulness and tranquility when the tourists go home
Cole doesn’t strike me as the peaceful and tranquil kind of individual. But that’s a fine opinion. I’ll take Destin, Florida as my favorite beach destination. But to each their own.
But LBI? LBI isn’t exactly a private beach. .
Even with the unfinished Halo squad as it sits, if you think a Cole led pitching staff with a Trout led lineup is going to finish in 4th place, I have some beautiful oceanfront property to sell you in Arizona.
Excellent comment, George
You’re right, Cole would be enough to push the Angels past the Rangers for 3rd place
New York has beaches
Kramer even swims in the East River
yes
Pittsburgh
Was Heyman wearing a Boras Corp hat when he started tweeting today?
OMG it’s gotta be a legit rumor and not just Boras trying to work the market!
I’ve accomplished astonishingly little work today in the hopes that refreshing my twitter feed someone moves this whole process along
I mean I guess it could be the Twins. They said they have money and want to make a big splash but I don’t see a world where they outbid one of these teams by enough to convince Cole to come to Minnesota.
Cant see the Twins spending 1/4 of their payroll on one pitcher
It’s 8 degrees here today…
Jeff Todd, the secret info you got regarding the Mystery Team: did the mysterious phone call sound like Scott Boras with a deep voice?
Cole must be telling Boras to get it done soon. “Mystery team” showing up pretty early this time. LOL. Maybe Cole really doesn’t want to go to NY? 🙂
So then he shouldn’t even consider their offer. Go live at home and play for the Angels. Just think of all the free time he’ll have every Oct 1st!!!!!
God I love the mystery team.
I’m buying their cap as a Christmas gift for secret Santa
Could be the Astros, they aren’t so broke…
They’re already paying Verlander ($33 million next year) and Greinke ($35 million next year) a ton of money. To sign Cole, they’d be paying over $100 million next year to three pitchers. That’s not happening. Especially since they’re already close to the luxury tax and have other core guys that are about to free agents (Springer, Correa) soon.
The Nationals top 3 starters in 2019 made $93 million so $100 million+ isn’t too far off. But I agree, in the Astros situation, its not likely to happen.
Isn’t greinke’s deal partway paid down as part of the trade bringing him to HOU?
Not that it makes it more likely they sign him (too expensive) but I’m pretty sure 8 or 10m came along in the trade
Although they may have to throw some money into the trash can.
The mystery team is the San Diego Padres, my source confirms.
Everyone knows who.. or what the mystery team is. same as the one boras always has. he pulled it out of the same place as always.
Mystery team is White Sox because it was plan B/C to offer crazy $ and still be a long shot to land 1 starter (Stras/Cole). Ideal vision for them was Wheeler and another decent starter until the market erupted (thanks in part to them).
Maybe
Come on, Mystery Team, be Miami.,
How much fun would that be? If Heyman is throwing cold water over the concept, it’s intended to show Boras credibility for claims about all the other bidders.
Reds or White Sox for the mystery team
There’s no way the reds could spend that kind of money. They have money to spend but not 37M over 8 seasons.
I’m surprised how many players do not want to live in Minnesota and other similar cities. I’ve visited a lot of the bigger market cities and they seem like less charming dumps. $200-300m could build you a castle with a batcave under it in the midwest for the price of a fairly modest home elsewhere.
AMC, as an example, I just went to weather.com. Current temp in Minneapolis: 5 degrees. Current temp in Anaheim: 61 degrees.
If they played baseball in December, then that might be a problem.
Yeah, because playing baseball in late October can be a problem, but of course that obviously depends on location.
I understand the weather is “nicer” and more people prefer that. I love fall and winter for example. I’m just surprised there aren’t more players who like 4 seasons and enjoy midwestern suburban family towns. That’s where I would choose to live. It seems like all players want the beach or a big city.
News flash:
NYC, PHL, heck, all of the northeast and many other places have 4 seasons.
You can get snow at 20 degrees as much as you can -20, don’t need to go to the Midwest to get it
Im sure if Minnesota can afford to pay him $300+ million that he’d be interested in all the nice things to do in or around Minneapolis-St.Paul.
AMC, I appreciate your point of view. I have relatives from MN and they love it. I’m not sure if Gerrit is like me, but living in SoCal my whole life, I’m seriously a puszy when it comes to cold weather. I can take hot all day, but not cold. 45 degrees is like but.tass freezing to me. I imagine it stems from your childhood. My father lives about 12 houses away from Mike Trout and his Newport Beach house is amazing. BUT Mike lives in New Jersey in the offseason because he likes to hunt and fish in the cold. More power to him. Ha.
I totally understand. I know different strokes for different folks. There just seems to be a huge shortage in players who don’t mind the 4 seasons. If I were a player (obviously not), I would find Minnesota more appealing than Miami (location wise).
Of course there’s a mystery team. Not!! This is a transparent Boras BS negotiating tactic. Tired and lame.
The Newport Beach ScottBorasans making a move for Cole.
He’s going to NY for $330 million and 9 years.
That would be a disaster. Far worse than the Stanton contract.
“But there’s also a mystery team involved, according to Jon Heyman”
He didn’t say a mystery team was involved. He said he heard there was a mystery team involved and then expressed some disbelief in what he heard. Not the same thing in this business.
I feel kind of bad for Mystery Team. Try as they might they never manage to land the guy they are going for.
Except last year when the White Sox, Phillies and Yankees were dancing with Manny Machado throughout the offseason until the mystery team from San Diego arrived late to the ball and swept him away.
They don’t got the cash for that.
Maybe the rays and As should start spending money
@AaronSapoznik
More like the market never developed for Manny. I don’t think the Yanks even made an offer.
The Yanks were never in on Manny. I remember because Manny really wanted to play for the Yanks but there was no reciprocation.
It was pretty obvious early on the Yankees weren’t interested in Machado. Once they signed DJ Lemahieu and Troy Tulowitzki it pretty much killed any chance of Machado being a Yankee.
Machado wanted the Yankees more than they wanted him. Still, they did participate in a meet-and-greet in the Bronx the same week in late December that Machado visited Chicago and Philadelphia. It’s unclear whether the Yanks ever made an official offer. Some reports suggest he did receive a low ball $220MM offer but the Yanks weren’t interested in getting into a bidding war after taking on the Giancarlo Stanton contract the year before which had been the largest total value deal until the Bryce Harper signing last winter. There was also concern in NY that Machado’s “hustle” questions wouldn’t play well in the Bronx.
Apparently, the dollars are no longer an issue with the Yankees as they prepare to actually get into a bidding war for Gerrit Cole who will undoubtedly receive the largest total and AAV contract ever given to a pitcher. Of course, Cole as a SP would solve a greater need with the Bombers than Machado would have last winter as a SS or 3B.
Sorry but Yanks weren’t interested in Manny, maybe Manny was hoping but that wasn’t the case
Rock Chalk Jayhawk
Go KU.
I think he’s going to Japan.
🙂
I heard that he has a love for kimchee so I think the KBO will be the landing spot. He can strike out every batter he faces and be the only pitcher to go through the year without ever giving up a hit.
Mets will sign him and guarantee to pay him 10 mil a year for the rest of his life.
signing that deal would be like finding the fountain of youth
I wonder what an all-mystery team from the last five years would look like? Might be tough to determine which free agents actually went to mystery teams.
If I had to guess as to the mystery team (if there even is one) I would say it’s one of:
Padres
Giants
Blue Jays
Mariners
Brewers
In that order of likeliness. Everyone is saying it’s a 2 horse race between the Yankees and Angels but I wouldn’t count out the Phillies and Dodgers just yet.
I can assure you that the Brewers are not the mystery team lol
If Braun would retire I could like the Brewers again. Viva Teddy Higuera.
ditto
No the Seattle Pilots owners used Seattle as a ruse then the owner became commish. Have a bit of a hard time looking them. I am old enough I went to some of the games.
The Padres are not the most likely mystery team. After handing out big contracts to Hosmer and Machado, and saddled with the Myers contract, there’s no way SD spends anywhere near what it would take to land Cole.
As the Giants are most definitely in win-now mode, I think they are the mystery team and will certainly end up with Cole!
I detect Giants-defeatist sarcasm….
I am looking to the Angels……8 years $300 Ml
I doubt very much that there is a legitimate “mystery team.” Cole is going to either the Yankees or the Angels, that is, whichever one is crazy enough to pay him $320 million-plus.
Wonder if Cole and Boras would entertain a 4 year $160million deal and bet on Cole’s arm and ability and think that he could get another huge payday in 4 years.? I think that is the only way a Mystery Team could possibly stand a chance to land Cole.
No chance
I am not thinking so much either but would be like having an opt out with out having to opt out and have a $40million AAV. I think he will go for an 8 or 9 year deal at 35-36million AAV and then never have to worry about FA again. Just wondering if he entertain a shorter term high AAV deal and bet on himself. Ego could drive it but it would be hard to pass up another $140million + for life security for several generations after you.
I’m sure the contract will have an opt out clause for Cole. There’s no reason for him to sign a short term deal in any case.
Wonder if the mystery team is gonna trade for Refsynder too…
Mystery could very well be CWS. I know this – there’s jack and squat for FA pitchers next season and the Sox absolutely need at least one SP to fill gap in what they have and what they project to have internally. Pair this with Reinsdorf’s stated love of baseball (he said that 2005 WS meant more than the six Bulls titles) and he’s getting old – Cole signing is not outside the realm of possibility. They NEED a SP and they NEED to get one this offseason if they’re going the FA route.
Handing out the largest long term K to a pitcher in MLB history. Scott Boras is the agent. That has Jerry Reinsdorf and White Sox written all over it.
Reinsdorf/ Boras rift is overplayed and cliche at this point. It was overblown to begin with.
I’m not predicting he goes with the Sox, but again it’s definitely possible.
No way Reinsdorf comes close to Steinbrenner or Moreno regardless of what the CWS NEED.
The mystery team is the 2000 Texas Rangers.
I am at the meetings..and 100% can confirm (overheard. convo) Pads are the mystery team… Also rumored to be in on deep talks with LAA on a Marsh (OF AA) for Hedges trade as LAA wants/needs a C
Its the Mariners. Dipoto is loonie enough
So, I do not believe the Phils are lurking around for Cole..I just can’t see Middleton and his stupid money spending $300m on a pitcher after signing Wheeler to what looks like an over pay to me..
Since the Phillies do still need a starter, I can easily see them get MadBum..
If they do get Rendon (a long shot), then I can see them trading Alec Bohm and others for a starter if they do not get MadBum..
But, but, but crazy stupid money….. 🙂
My sources say the mystery team is the Detroit “Toothless” Tigers where he could single handedly turn a 47 win team into a 60 win team all the while living in, you know, Detroit.
I’m laughing out loud!!! Kudos! Funniest comment award recipient right here folks! Thank you for brightening my day!
With the salary he’d make he could buy half the city, set up a fiefdom, and become King Cole
If only he would sign with the Nationals; then he would be “Nat King Cole”. Billy Joel could sing “Piano Man” at his inauguration.
Heyman- “Scott, I can’t…”
Boras- “Mr. Boras.”
Heyman- “Mr. Boras, sorry. I can’t keep doing the mystery team thing. I’ll lose credibility.”
Boras- “That ship sailed like a woodchuck on a hang glider.”
Heyman- “Can I, at least express some skepticism?”
Boras- “No.”
Heyman- “I’ll wash your car?”
Boras- “Wash all of them and you have a deal.”
“But there’s also a mystery team involved, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Heyman himself casts doubt upon the legitimacy of this unidentified organization…”
Hahaha!
only his cars and not his private jet as well? good deal IMO.
Henry Schulman is just trying to protect his team’s brand. Suggesting that Cole would consider the Giants “a desirable destination” is a statement that Boras would love any “homer journalist” to make right now—anything to drive up the market on his client. Most major newspapers that assign reporters to cover the local team have more journalistic integrity than the sports editor of Schulman’s paper. This is a nothing burger/fantasy story by Schulman.
The Twins should be in on Cole. That offense with an ace starter.
They should be, but I don’t see it. When they can’t land Madbum, Ryu, or Keuchel they will revert to piecing the back end of the rotation together with something like Thorpe/Dobnak/Smeltzer. And, they’re going to have to start hitting line drives if the ball turns out to be less juicy as many are predicting.
Cole is going to the Angels because all he cares about is the money, and they will give him the most at 9 yr 324mil or something crazy like that. Then the Angels will be a 3rd place team a couple years and eventually trade him to the Yankees or Dodgers because they figured out they have no money after Trout and Cole and have to eat some of the money.. Angels love to overspend.
You sound like an angel fan. The only way the Yankees get outbid is if they want to and from what we have heard they will do whatever it takes to get him. Also, would be pretty stupid for the angels to have three separate immovable contracts on their payroll for a team who is pretty much the red headed step child in Los Angeles.
If the Angels put Mike Trout on the market tomorrow you’d have no problem seeing the Yankees ,Phillies, or Dodgers take that contract in its entirety. So if you’re trying to insinuate that is in anyway immovable I’m going to call BS.
There’s a lot of presumption there jbigz. Even for the big fish $430MM is real big cash. With the big contracts coming up from Judge, Gleyber, Sanchez, etc., on top of Stanton and potentially Cole, I could see the Yanks saying pass. I don’t see the Phillies in on the action. Maybe the Dodgers but I sure wouldn’t call it a slam dunk. I’d say it’s relatively immovable.
Not much presumption. He’s the best player on planet Earth. If John Middleton could get his hands on him, he’d do it without blinking. Cashman would be a fool not to given their financial capabilities.
I was wrong on the team, but Exactly Right on the years and dollars. The Angels actually had a limit of around 300 mil. No I am not an Angels fan or Yankees.
My guess is that the White Sox are the mystery team!
I doubt the Sox go over 250mil which won’t get it done.
Why are you drawing the line at $250M?
White Sox would be a good team too. Good young nucleus, willing to spend, and they are in a weak division. Decent pitcher’s park. They should be contenders for a while.
The Angels. 2nd worst SP in baseball. Below average bullpen. Average offense. They are not a couple players away.
I would not rank the Angels a below average bullpen. Without looking, can you name their bullpen?
When people look at the Angels, they look at their record. Well, they are adding Adell, Upton, Ohtani, Canning, Heaney, Middleton, Bundy, Simmons, LaStella. They’ll probably add a front end starter and a catcher… at least.
People are saying they have a lot of holes to fill, but they are basing that on who didn’t play last year, not on who they expect to play this year.
So you’re assuming all the injured players come back and nobody gets injured.
at least they were not injured on their brains unlike you.
Come on Theo get it done . New tv deal gambling at Wrigley , Lester chatwood and Quintana horn next year (50 million off books)
Cashman-“Gerrit, how much would you like?”
Boras-“he wants this much”
Moreno-“I’ll give him that and a new car!”
Friedman-“I’ll give him that plus $10M”
Hal-“hold my beer”
not saying it will happen but would be funny to see the Yankees blow all that money on Cole, then he turns back into Pirates Cole, and not Astros Cole lol
Also funny would be for the Yankees to trade Happ to clear room for Cole and have Cole sign with like the Padres. That way the Yanks would theoretically be without 2 of their prospective 2020 pitchers. Ha.
The Yankees would be better off without Happ, whether they get Cole or not. HaHa
if so, why would anyone trade for him?
To buy a prospect or two
The Yankees top 3 pitchers without Cole will be Severino, Paxton and Tanaka. They have an 18 game winner (German) that could be back after suspension for the 2nd half of the season. They have a 14 game winner (Montgomery) coming back. They have a top 50 ranked pitching prospect that could be ready to help this season. And they are the Yankees so finding back end of the rotation starters would not be a problem for them.
Michael K always says when analyzing these things read the tea leaves. Meaning see what is going on outside the box of the story now with the Yankees trying to trade Haap in an attempt to cushion their luxury tax blow that should tell us as of right now the Yankees should be perceived as the odds on favorite to win this sweepstakes. Do not be surprised if we here within a week or so that he signs with the Yankees nine years and somewhere in the neighborhood of 325 million. If they are able to trade JA and only half to pay the other team half of the contract that with the money they are saving because of Jacoby Ellsbury at least for the first year it would be almost as if they are getting coal for free.
Winner winner spot on
Mystery team always come in when there is nothing to report on anything else.
Sugar land skeeters sign G. Cole 9 yrs 320 mil
espn reports that yankees made a record deal for cole eclipsing stras’. i doubt it was more than $300 mil.
8y/$288M ($36M) seems possible. Although Cole might be “superstitious” and ask for it to be $298M (his birthday is 9/8), making the AAV $37.25M.
Pretty sure the only real suitors are the Yankees. There’s no mystery team. Yankees will offer 8/285. No one will offer more than 270 or over 7 years.
There you have it folks. Joe Knowitall with the scoop!
They are bidding against themselves.
Heck, 7/246 meets that criteria. Basically a non-story this early in the rounds of negotiations
This has absolutely nothing to do with where Cole will go, and even more odd considering I’m a Braves fan, but I had a dream last night the San Francisco Giants stunned the baseball world by agreeing to a 7/290 deal with Cole.
Why the heck would the Giants of all teams do that? They aren’t going to go anywhere either way. What a total waste of money that would be.
Well they have won 3 world series in the past decade (eerily all in even numbered years) so there’s that (2020 is an even numbered year). 😉
I would not count out the Giants as a possible mystery team. They do things like this.
Dodgers would NEVER go 8/300…. would they?
Naaaaw!!! Disregard
the Troutsters will get him
Does anyone believe the mystery team BS anymore? Boras is a clown to throw that out there (you know the rumor started in his camp). Cole already has a bidding war for his services among 3 rich and willing suitors and will easily get a record deal. Boras doesn’t need to use weak, obvious tactics at this point to get him around $300M.
I do. It’s not just Boras that does it.
My guess is Braves and White Sox.
Neither the Braves nor White Sox will put down the kind of money it’s going to take.
why not? some teams are smart enough to patch news leaks so they can get things done without distractions.
Henry Schulman: “Cole wants to come to SF! He’ll fit in great with MVP candidate Pillar-”
Reality: “non-tendered”
Schulman: “… never mind that, his pitching will *absolutely* compliment the bats of Stanton and Harper-”
Reality: “Yeah, we didn’t sign them either, time to wake up”
(alarm clock goes off)
Schulman: “What a wonderful dream! Back to sleep to get my next scoop!”
The Angels and White Sox won 72 games last year. The Sox have more talent going into 2020, why aren’t they spending like the Angels allegedly want to?
they already signed Grandal and went after Machado last year. i imagine they indeed are in the hunt.
The Angels are adding Upton, Simmons, Canning, LaStella, Bundy, Adell, Middleton, Ohtani, Heaney likely a pitcher and a catcher.
Who are the White Sox Adding? I don’t follow the White Sox that closely. But if they are adding that much talent to their team, then they should do quite well in that division.
The Sox aren’t adding anybody other than Grandal. I’m asking why not. They have young players from trades and draft picks, but they’ve decided 2019-2020 offseason isn’t the year to spend. They’re going to wait until 2022, which is incredibly stupid given the financial flexibility pre-arb players give them right now.
In my opinion, no reason why not. The White Sox are very close to winning. Great young talent. A lot of nice players.
His list includes injured players. By that logic guys like kopech count.
? Those players are already on the team in 2019 aren’t they?
That’s like saying the 2020 Yankees will be adding Judge, Severino, Stanton, Andujar, Montgomery, etc to name just a few. Using your logic, they are adding an ace, 2 MVP caliber players, a runner up ROY and a talented young starting pitcher…and that would be in addition to Cole if Cole wants to sign with the Yankees.
Can’t use injury as a reason since the 2019 Yankess broke the record for the most missed games due to injury in major league history last season (all the players above missed HUGE parts of or the ENTIRE season last year)…and still managed to win 103 games.
Grandal, Robert, Madrigal, Kopech, 2 SPs, RF added. Much more youth with arrows pointing up, as opposed to the angels with upton and Simmons
Trout has more talent then entire Sox roster lmao
They won the same amount of games last year, so what does that tell you?
FWIW, (and call me a homer if you want) I’d take the trio of Moncada, Jimenez and Anderson over Trout today, given their respective contracts and age. They all have superstar potential.
It’s a shame if the Sox don’t add a top free agent or two this offseason. Next year could have been fun.
Not sure you understand how baseball works… Trout can only take up one lineup spot and can be walked every at bat. He can also only field one position. Not sure your idea to see him field the entire outfield and be the only batter while the other 8 spots are automatic outs would work though. I like ideas, so keep them coming!
Bad News Bears =Mystery Team?
Mystery team is the REd Sox they will trade Mookie Betts and JB and Sale to get Cole. jk
I keep thinking the Angels will come out on top and blow everyone away and then they sign Porcello.
You joke, but, the biggest winners this offseason based on the Stras/Cole bidding ARE the red sox.
Before this cycle of elevated SP valuation Price, Sale, and Eovaldi were VERY under water.
However, now these same contracts are only somewhat underwater, and, it’s likely that Price could actually be near par value if he returns healthy and picks up where he was before the last half dozen injured starts of 2019.
All of a sudden some of those deals are more moveable. Maybe not till next offseason when the SP market is thin, but nonetheless very tradeable if production returns to normal.
Can’t agree with this. That terrible David Price contract is still there even after these two new mega deals.
If they trade Betts and Sale to get Cole, what’s the point?
Ok, thought you were serious.
Scott Boras is the MLB version of WWE’s Paul Heyman
I imagine he leads off every meeting with this:
“Ladies and gentlemen… my name… is Scott Boras. And I am the advocate for my CLIENT!….. GERRRRIT! COLEEE! Who is the reigning! Defending! Undisputed! Baddest SP in the world!
This gave me a good laugh. Thanks mate.
Jays could be the mystery team. Payroll is only 60M this year and projected lower than that next year. 8 yrs and 300M and he might be had. It would signal that Jays are starting to be serious about winning and his time would encompass the competitive timeframe with Vlad, Bo and others.
That’s pretty funny….could really see him in Toronto!
Is Boras playing the brother-in-law card to try and get more money? We know that Cole and Crawford are brothers-in-laws but that doesn’t mean they get along.
Giants need an ace now that MadBum is gone but are still minimum 2-3 years away from being competitive, maybe more.
Yeah, it would make no sense whatsoever for the Giants to even daydream about signing Cole. Too many albatross contracts to players on the downside of their careers clogging up that roster and too little young talent in the pipeline. Zaidi is much smarter than that.
As a White Sox fan who saw this approach fail last year… doubt Boras is doing that.
It would be a bad move for anyone but the Yankees, Angels or Dodgers. Maybe the Phillies. (The Red Sox are out because they’ve overspent). For anyone else a Cole acquisition would represent too large a percentage of payroll devoted to one person. That would hamstring them from dealing with all the other needs of the team. Wouldn’t be prudent.
I would borderline argue the white sox based on the following:
– lots of young guys coming up who are cheap pre-arb salaries
– by the time young guys are hitting sizeable arb raises players like abreu/grandal drop off
– timing is right to compliment peak competitiveness window of those young guys
– Cleveland is near ready to go into more of a rebuild/retool cycle making it easier to ascend the division
They could handle 35m on one guy because of the roster construction, albeit they may seek some deferred money.
Aside from them, I think you’ve mostly covered the logical spots.
They won’t get Cole, like last year with Machado.
And I’ll say, “Thank God!”, two years in a row.
White Sox payroll may top out at $150M eventually. To have one guy take up ~25% of your entire payroll is crippling.
The Giants have as much money as any team in baseball. They definitely have more to spend than the Phils, or Angels. Not saying they will sign Cole, or even if it would be wise to, but the amount of money needed would not stop them if that’s what they want to do.
The Giants have too many needs thanks to their stubbornness and refusal to rebuild. The roster is not good, and signing Cole won’t change much.
Adding $37MM to the payroll wouldn’t hamstring the White Sox. It would raise their payroll to about $88MM. That’s nothing. Literally the only need they have is a proven Ace to match win Giolito, and a RFer.
The Angels need a lot more than that. The Phillies don’t have a solid core of position players, nor do they have a formidable starting rotation. Who closes for them? Dodgers don’t need him. They’re already solid and poised to win their division for atleast another 3 years.
Love your passion, bud, but as a die hard sox fan as well, I don’t agree – we have more than two needs.
– After Giolito, we have no other proven SP (everyone else’s ERAs were 5.00+).
– We need to see it again from the following players to believe it: Tim Anderson (SS), James McCann (DH), and Eloy Jimenez (LF).
– We have yet to see the following in the Majors and thus there’s a 50% chance they succeed: Luis Robert (CF) and Nick Madrigal (2B).
– Our bullpen overachieved, including Colome. Not sure what we have, tbh.
– Only proven guys we can trust: Jose Abreu (1B), Yasmani Grandal (C), Yoan Moncada (3B – elite talent that finally showed up all year last year), Lucas Giolito (SP1), and Alex Colome (CL).
Cole has deep history with Crawford. They played together at UCLA and were so close Crawford introduced him to his smokin hot sister, who Cole married. Maybe the all time friend move ever. You can bet the Giants are way in on this. If not a lock.
Maybe he’ll give the Giants a family discount ?
Cole will undoubtedly take the best offer to provide for Crawford’s sister. If winning & making max is a priority for Cole, he wont be with Giants
Giants were in on Stanton, and Harper. That money is still sitting there. And if bums comes off the books well it’s almost a discount for Cole.
You might be correct about the winning aspect, or lack thereof, but the Giants can offer Cole the max if they want to.
Giants would be idiots to “buy” Cole. Waste of money.
Crane proly knows draft assets will be virtually nil in coming years due to Trashtro’s cheating scandal.. NVM that he will likely lose most of FO group to firing & banishment from baseball.
Stock up Jimmy, .
cheatin stros wanna keep the cheat party going
Max Wildstein tweeted out that it sounds like the Yankees have formally offered 8 years/$292 million for Gerrit Cole
omg henry Schulman is full of it,he thinks e everyone wants to play for the giants. Harper or Stanton wouldn’t go either, there rebuilding.
Contract is going to be a DISASTER
thr Astros are about to get either a vacated W.S. or postseason bans, so no FA wants them…
Zero chance they vacate the world series.
This has Scott boras written all over it and I’m going to say neither of these teams are in the mix and this is just to drive up the price. San Francisco was not willing to spend 100 million to keep the guy who got them three world championships but they will spend 300 million? Also, everyone knows the Astros are desperately trying to get under the luxury tax so bad they are even considering trading one of their core players but they’re going to give Cole 300 million? My guess is the Angels and Yankees have not gone over to 75 yet and he is desperately trying to get his client over 300 million so he figures getting this out there will get over that barrier. We all need to remember practically every drawn out free agent that is represented by Scott there is always somewhere in the negotiations are “mystery team“ and guess what never has a mystery team won the bidding because there never is a mystery team.
Good analysis. I wonder how much is Scott Boras and how much is Gerrit Cole? I think we all dream of having $300+ million guaranteed and all we have to do is show up.
After losing out on Didi and Yasmati, the Reds are going to stun the world, and sign, Cole.
Best rotation in BB.
2020 WC.
Too late looks like the angels got him. Which is not going to help them as much as they think it will. Cole/ohtani/bundy. Rrriigghhhtttttt
My sources are saying the Twins are the mystery team. The Yankees are also rumored to be offering a 10 year/$500 contract because screw competitive balance.
Angles 100% confirmed
90 or 45 degree?
That’s obtuse bro. Wow.
Hahaha!!!
I’d say that opinion was slightly slanted
Angel fan here : I’m legit nervous/excited but also optimistic… a lot of feels right now :/
cant believe the amgels did this..they better be doing more then just one pitcher tho…need Maldonado and another solid SP..maybe Keuchel and then I think we can start sniffing wildcards…
Hopefully he signs with the Yankees, stays healthy and has a 5÷ era every year
I would be Surprised if it’s the Yankees.
I’m thinking the Dodgers.
Yanks for 324 mil over 9 years.
Thanks for your two damn cents, Schulman, glad the SF Chronicle is still going strong.
My question is: how much of this is Scott Boras and how much of this is the player getting what they deserve?
Yes, I’m watching a game from June 2 last year right now. I do love baseball.