The Gerrit Cole sweepstakes has reached an end just over a month after the start of free agency. The Yankees have agreed to sign the ace right-hander to a nine-year, $324MM contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. It includes a full no-trade clause and an opt-out clause after the fifth year, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.
It’s a historic pact for Cole, a Scott Boras client who has landed the largest deal ever for a pitcher and the second-greatest payday in the history of major league free agency. Cole has smashed the seven-year, $245MM contract righty Stephen Strasburg signed with the Nationals earlier this week, and he nearly matched the $330MM guarantee outfielder Bryce Harper received from the Phillies last offseason. But Harper’s money will come in over 13 years, meaning Cole has easily eclipsed him in average annual value. Cole will take home a whopping $36MM per year.
For the Yankees and general manager Brian Cashman, the addition of Cole brings to an end a years-long pursuit of the Southern California native, who was a fan of the club growing up. The Yankees selected Cole in the first round of the 2008 draft, but he elected to attend UCLA instead. It proved to be a wise decision for Cole, who further improved his stock as a Bruin and wound up as the No. 1 overall pick of the Pirates in 2011.
Cole, who debuted in the majors in 2013, generally thrived in Pittsburgh through 2017. However, the Pirates knew they wouldn’t be able to reach an extension with Cole, so they traded him to Houston prior to the 2018 campaign. The Yankees were among the teams the Astros upended to acquire Cole, which proved costly for New York. Thanks in large part to Cole, the Astros took down the Yankees in this fall’s American League Championship Series, though Houston fell to Strasburg and the Nationals in the World Series.
The Yankees couldn’t beat Cole, but he’ll now join them after he found another gear in Texas. Cole became a truly elite pitcher as a member of the Astros, with whom the flamethrower posted back-to-back 200-inning seasons of sub-3.00 ERA ball. He was particularly amazing in 2019, when he amassed a jaw-dropping 326 strikeouts with a 2.50 ERA/2.64 FIP across 212 1/3 frames. That performance wasn’t enough to defeat then-teammate Justin Verlander for AL Cy Young honors, but it was enough to help earn Cole an absolutely massive payday. This deal blows past the eight-year, $256MM that MLBTR predicted Cole would receive this offseason.
The Yankees now have a lights-out workhorse to accompany Luis Severino, James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka as their top four starters, and the Cole signing indicates they and owner Hal Steinbrenner aren’t concerned about paying the luxury tax going forward. With Cole’s money factored in, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates the Yankees are on track to spend just under $250MM in 2020, which is without having made any other additions. If that holds up, the Yankees will exceed the highest tax penalty of $248MM next season. Doing so would subject the Yankees to a 42.5 percent overage tax for outspending the threshold by $40MM or more. It’s possible, however, that the Yankees will shave off some of their tax bill if they’re able to trade $17MM left-hander J.A. Happ, a rumored candidate for a change of scenery who now looks all the more likely to exit now that Cole is in the fold.
The Cole pickup represents an act of free-agency aggression that late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner would have saluted. It’s also a sign the Yankees are all-in toward returning to the top of the major league mountain for the first time since 2009. Not only does Cole look as if he’ll greatly strengthen their roster, but it’s a major blow to their biggest AL competition, the Astros. Undoubtedly, Cole’s decision is also an enormous disappointment to both Los Angeles-based teams, who all along joined the Yankees as the most obvious-looking fits to sign him. Those two teams will now have to look elsewhere in a free-agent market that has moved much quicker than in recent years, and has already seen several of its best players sign in a matter of weeks.
While Cole should have a hugely positive effect on the Yankees’ near-term chances, it’s clear this deal presents a sizable risk for the club. Assuming Cole doesn’t opt out after the fifth season, the 29-year-old will pitch almost the entirety of his 30s on this contract. The good news for the Yankees is that Cole has never had anything as major as Tommy John surgery. However, he did miss a large portion of 2016 with injuries, including to his elbow. Cole has since bounced back with three consecutive 200-inning seasons, though signing pitchers to long-term, big-money contracts is nonetheless risky, which will leave the Yankees to hope he continues to hold up as he ages.
Should Cole exercise his opt-out provision in the 2024-25 offseason, the Yankees will have the opportunity to void that decision by extending him for an additional year and $36MM, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Cole would need to be willing to walk away from four years and $144MM at age 34 for that clause to be relevant, and the Yankees would likewise need to be willing to pay him a total of $180MM for his age-34 through age-38 seasons to void the opt-out decision. It doesn’t seem particularly likely that the clause will come into play, but in the event that it does, Cole would earn $360MM over a decade-long term with the Yankees.
While all free agents bring some level of concern, that hasn’t stopped Boras from securing a windfall of cash for his clients this offseason. After helping get Harper his contract last year, Boras has seen Cole and Strasburg collect a combined $569MM this winter. He may help negotiate yet another $200MM-plus deal next for third baseman Anthony Rendon, who just took over as the No. 1 free agent available now that Cole’s off to the Bronx.
Where’s all those salty haters???
Going to hurt even more if they lose out of the playoffs again next season
lol the Yankees just won the World Series. Yeah, I’m a biased fan, but look at what that team did with an unprecedented number of injuries to their starting lineup. They had something like 35 guys on the DL (yeah, I know it’s the “IL” now. Too bad), they had so many injuries over the course of the season that you literally could have fielded another 40-man roster of guys who were hurt.
Even if *everyone* doesn’t stay healthy, they’ll win 110 games easily.
Lil nothing edgier than saying the wrong baseball terminology intentionally. Someone call the authorities.
They did better with their non starters than if they would have had all starters healthy tbh. So good luck sitting with my team on the couch next post season.
Very true. It’s a good pick up for them with Sabathia departing and Tanaka going through the bit of regression he had. Baseball grip had a hit to do with it but this move no doubt helps them a lot.
Yep, the perfect storm and plenty of people over producing should be totally easy to replicate next year.
I hate to say it but yeah, I see the Yankees winning the WS next year, I wish the Dodgers could have signed Cole (not for 9yrs), but unfortunately the Dodgers are a small market team with no money to spend.
Hahahaha @ScottCarriere I bathe in your salty tears
Cole isn’t even a #1, so the Yanks grossly over paid. He might have the tools but lacks the mental edge.
He’ll be the Giambi curse of the new decade. Lol.
They’ll win 9 straight divisions and lost 9 straight ALCS series.
Houston didn’t win 110 with Cole, Verlander and Greinke in the rotation, lol.
There is no such thing as “winning 110 games easily”. This is an obvious, perfect fit move for the Yankees, very much in the vein of the CC Sabathia signing a decade ago, but that’s one piece. The Yankees had a lot of adversity last year, but they also had outrageously good counter-adversity in the form of the likes of Gio Urshela. We’ll see how the net adversity ends up this year, though there’s zero doubt that the Yankees will be at or near the top of the AL.
Lol the haters are hating bad! The man had a Pedro season
The Yankees haven’t won anything in a decade. This is a nice move to get them over the top in 2020, but let’s see them actually go do it now.
How is he not a number 1? He is arguably in the top 3 pitchers in the league.
Cole would never have even considered the Yankees had they not dumped Rothschild as pitching coach.
Would have been forced to pitch as he had in Pittsburgh.
You are right. He was #2 in Cy Young voting…….
Man.. This sucks for Angels fans. What are they gonna do now? It was all about getting Cole and maybe Strasburg too. Now… No Cole, No Stras and no Wheeler. Better do something completely idiotic, like trade for Price and pretend he’s an ace because he’s so expensive, just to trick fans into thinking your trying. Add MadBum just to throw some more garbage on the pile. If they pay Price and MadBum a ton of cash fans might think it’s Cole and Strasburg, right?
so the Angels should trade for Price just for the sake of doing it. sounds stupid
Your jealousy is showing bud.
mmmhmmm, that’s what everyone said about the Astros too…
“110 games easily” LOL
“Even if *everyone* doesn’t stay healthy, they’ll win 110 games easily.”
This has only been done six times in the history of the sport and only twice in the last 65 years, but yeah, sure. They’ll do it “easily”.
Uh huh. Going to be hilarious the moment that Cole dares go on more than a 2 game losing streak. The backlash from drunken Yankees fans at home will be catastrophic.
Far from it… No LH bats is going to kill them!
Kindly explain to me how they didn’t have $120 available for Patrick Corbin, but suddenly have an EXTRA $200 million available for Cole?
The real question is how they can get Stanton’s $30 million per year and J.A. Happ’s $17 million per year off the books so they can afford this overpriced beef?
$36 million (roughly $1.5 – $2 million per start); how stupid can they be?
exactly. im no where near a yankee fan but whats gonna happen when torres,sanchez,judge andd your studs are up for contract extension or arbitration smashes the yanks with 10 plus mill. will they even have the money to pay the core that did well for them this previous season.
Lol they have 3x payroll as teams i would hope they would have some depth
They’ll be strong, and it’s a great signing. As it stands, with good health, they probably do win the World Series. If 2 SP go down though for a length, they’re done. That goes for any team. So there are some scenarios they don’t.
No money to spend? Oh yea they have no money but they are gunning after Rendon or any other free agents
What is wrong with you? Have another beer and go pound your pillow.
Because their garbage can was out of service for a couple of weeks.
Because their garbage can was out of service for a couple of weeks, Moody
There are no guarantees. Yankees look great on paper. Now going out and winning it all – let’s wait and see.
Just thinking like the Angels do. Madden has ties with Pricey and said he would like him on his team. What’s Arte think of Madden calling the Angels HIS team?
They have won nothing and once in last 20 years.
xerostatic they said that before the garbage can dance. Now they’re just trying to figure out how many players, coaches, and front office people are going to be suspended or fired.
He’s no Pedro dude
I hope not as bad as last year. They really sucked donkey Kong.
The best team on paper almost never wins the World Series. 1 excellent starter cannot win the World Series. This move is certainly improves the Yankees, but it guarantees nothing in terms of the World Series. Also they want to trade Happ, so they’ll still be missing starting pitching depth.
do you really believe that or have you been trained to by hype?
NYY15 big Munson fan. They had the money but Corbin wasn’t worth more than 5 year contract in the Yankees mind and most other people. Cole is the best free agent pitcher to come on the market in a very long time. Based on last year’s record including the playoffs Cole would make just under 1 million a start. If he goes 20-5 like last year and pitches well in the playoffs, he would definitely be worth it and some more.
@frankie the dodgers are a small market team?! Please explain how they’re small market when they have had the highest payroll in the NL for the past few years… that’s not small market, small market is like Milwaukee, KC, Seattle etc.not NYY, Cubs, Astros or R Sox
Absolutely right. I’m a biased Yankee fan also, but also very realistic. I haven’t even tried to say the Yankees are the “beat team in baseball” in many years. Cole ends the doubt. The Yankees are the BEST team in baseball, on paper. Now they have to WIN!!
Cole is THE #1. Best pitcher in baseball.
I’d bet a few bucks they’ll get to 105 easily. Anything past that requires a bit of luck sprinkled on top of a lot of talent.
They didn’t like Corbin enough to pay more, and I think the Yankees made the right call on him. Corbin is very good, he’s not your no-doubter game 1 playoff series pitcher though.
As for Stanton, he’s untradeable. For now. They guy had a lost season, but let’s see what he does if healthy. Still young. Still the most powerful hitter in baseball (tied with Judge that is).
That is funny right there! Did you lose your top 2 pitchers, while #3 missed several months? What about your All-Star SS for the first month of the season? Talk about injuries….
Oh and have you ever heard about regression???? Add that into account. Yanks win 98 games next season. Change my mind….HAHA
Are you a psychologist and a scout?
Thanks for putting your biases aside for years. Completely justifies everything you say as incredible realistic from this point forward
Put your money where your mouth is
You’re acting like the Yankees can’t afford them.
Yeah, but they still had a franchise best record, though.
He would be for most teams.
Behind his teammate Verlander so technically he was a #2
I know he was the Astros #2, but he would still be the #1 for most teams.
Weird. Sox were sure things this year, too. Maybe wait and see, yeah?
Spot on Vandals, spot on. All the reports that Cole would go to the highest bidder considered. Without dumping Rothschild’s salary, the Yankees would not have had the resources to top the other offers.
Yea, in Houston. They made Wade Miley look awesome. Now that Cole has to pitch in a batter’s paradise, his numbers won’t even be close.
And they cheated in half the games (when they played at home)
Bang
Bang
Whiner
Easily? If they win 110, you be sure to ask a Yankee how easy it was.
Nah.
To be fair yanks might not have a title recently bit let’s not act like back to back 100 win seasons and 2of past 3 yrs in ALCS is chop liver. Yanks are the winningest team in baseball over the last decade and tied with Dodgers for most playoff appearances in that span also. Yanks have made the playoffs 21 of the last 25yrs and have the most titles in that span . Now they add the best pitcher in baseball to a already packed roster.
Yanks also are in midst of 2nd longest stretch of winning seasons in baseball history , and the record there chasing in that dept is also there’s . But yeah , you got us, yanks haven’t won a title since 2009. Smh
Not a Yankee hater by any means but (I am about to have a bloody good go) I’ve got to intersperse replies to this. In the interim congrats to the Yankees for staying relevant for the past 20 years with the largest payroll in 14 of them….
“To be fair yanks might not have a title recently bit let’s not act like back to back 100 win seasons and 2of past 3 yrs in ALCS is chop liver.”
>> Agreed.
Yanks are the winningest team in baseball over the last decade and tied with Dodgers for most playoff appearances in that span also. Yanks have made the playoffs 21 of the last 25yrs and have the most titles in that span .
>> Only one of which happened after 2000. If you’re under 25 years old – alas my salad days are behind me – the Yankees are perennial losers when it comes to the crunch..
Now they add the best pitcher (questionable – he might be the best AVAILABLE) in baseball to a already packed roster.
.Yanks also are in midst of 2nd longest stretch of winning seasons in baseball history , and the record there chasing in that dept is also there’s
>>> Again, congratulations on that one but it’s absolutely meaningless if you’re free of a WS parade at the end of it. You can crow about 100+ game winning seasons (and gripe about injuries) but for all that they won 7 more games than Tampa Bay in 2019 with what? Three times the payroll?
But yeah , you got us, yanks haven’t won a title since 2009. Smh
>>> I think Cole is a great acquisition. Is he worth $36 million in 2020. Hell yes. Will he be worth $36 million in 2028 – who knows. Yanks fans can only hope he ages as well as Jamie Moyer. I appreciate the new CBA will probably tear down the luxury tax (making the cost of this contract a moot point) but mercy me – nine freaking years for a guy who has a career ERA of 0.29 & FIP of 0.53 better than Sonny Gray?
I agree with you London. That was a good post. Yes, the Yanks are great. They don’t get bang for the buck at all though. Not to mention the idea that “Cole is the best pitcher in baseball” is a ridiculous statement made by fans that live in the same city Jake DeGrom has pitched in for years. There is a reason that deGrom just won his 2nd consecutive Cy Young award while Cole lost out to his own teammate. Cole is a spectacular pitcher. He is great. I am not a Mets fan at all but I have to say deGrom is better. Cy Young voters agree. New York baseball fans should have realized the same thing since Cole was across the country and deGrom was in their backyard. The Yanks are better than the Rays but it doesn’t matter unless they win the world series. I would rather make the playoffs and not even get invited to the world series while spending less than $100 million vs. make the playoffs and not even get invited to the world series while spending over $200 million.
LOL. I really thought he was using the team to up the West Coast offers. Surprised at that kind of money, they would still put in an opt out. Given his age then and money/years still owed, can anyone really see Cole opting out?
maybe he was then they never went up so he just signed with his childhood team, that stupidly offered him that ridiculous contract, I didn’t like him after his little stunt after the WS, I especially don’t like him after he signed with NYY, I think them and their fans will grow to regret this, I don’t think it will end up working out like cc, they rarely do
yanks did draft him, tried again before Houston had a better package. this isn’t like lebron going to the Lakers just because he can
Maybe so, but they finally have the ace they’ve been sorely lacking since Sabathia’s earlier years with them and I mean 2009 to 2012, because he did live up to his contract those years.
I know, that’s what I was saying sabathia was worth it, this guy is not
Pay for it loser
Right here.
The mlb and their wild wild west ways of letting teams try to buy these championships is getting absolutely absurd imho. This is nothing I didn’t expect but those pinstripes in both leagues make it that much more fun to beat you guys and appreciate young; unselfish guys like albies and acuna who decided to put their pride and selfishness aside and play for peanuts on the dollar for the love of the game.
Sorry not sorry but these contracts keep getting more and more ridiculous each and every year.
MLB needs to adopt the NFL salary cap like yesterday.
Oh is that what happened with albies and acuna? Or did they make a mistake? Can’t blame them, but I feel pretty confident they would both do it over again.
Absolutely, absurd. Cole exemplifies the unfair playing field: the team who drafted him couldn’t afford him and he eventually ended up with one of the wealthiest teams. Absurd.
Technically the yanks drafted him first.
Why exactly is it absurd? You’re talking about limiting a person’s pay based on his current employers ability to pay him, oh, and not letting him leave if someone else is willing to pay him more. Salary caps and regulations are what is absurd. Baseball is America’s passtime and should reflect the American traditions of freedom, the collection of individuals we call a melting pot, the pursuit of happiness. Instead you want a hyper regulated authoritarian system that says “sorry you are so much more successful than your peers, but you only get to be as good as the most incompetent among you”.
All of this is almost mute anyways, as virtually every over the top contract has been an overall mistake, and burden to the team.
Not to mention, the NBA and NFL are such garbage because of the salary caps. The NBA should seriously change it’s name to WWE-ball mode. It’s laughable at this point.
Agreed. I’ve been suggesting a system that rewards everyone including fans. My suggestion of allowing only 50% for years 5+ against the cap needs tweaking as it likely doesn’t help your team as much as I originally envisioned. Maybe force the shared revenue pool money that small market teams get so it’s more but can only be used for signing your own free agents. Anyway, I find it strange that one big market club, the Yankees is expecting the next CBA to be hugely beneficial but another, Boston is trying to get under the tax now. If it was such a certainty, would Boston ownership care that much about two years?
Dodge this, there would not be a competitive league under your system and teams in the NFL would have zero chance of winning. The system you describe is union based which is as much of American history as there is. Changes occur every time a CBA is negotiated but without a framework, it will be a Wild West atmosphere with those using their big wallets as weapons. The mightier get wealthier…
Baseball is not a political system but rather a very flawed economic system with inherent winners and losers not based on on-field performance but rather economic means based on unequal variables. Imagine if the A’s had an additional $100 mil to equal the Yankees’ budget.
For something eye-opening, look up the list of MSA (metropolitan statistical areas)
It’s a measure based on census data of population for given metropolitan areas. What is of note are the names of areas that actually have more people than “big markets” that are lamented like boston.
Did you know that the metro boston area ranked behind places like metro chicago/dallas/houston/washington/miami/philly/atlanta/etc?
In the big scheme of things the ones to blame for certain teams having less money are the population and ownership of those teams – population for not supporting, owners for agreeing to poor media deals.
Spoken like a true big market fan. Market size competitive advantages are what’s ridiculous. And yes this is a closed system. It’s a LEAGUE.
*response to Dodgethis
the other thing to look at though is cost of living and spending power of the population in that area, alot of people living somewhere doesn’t mean anything if they can’t afford to go to a game
Spot on. Only a handful of teams can now afford the top FA’s… When a few teams can have 2-3 times the payroll of those they “COMPETE” against how is that fair play?
The major money a team makes is based on media contracts not actual attendance at games. Most people can afford cable TV, Thus all teams should be able to have large revenue streams but many teams just don’t do good jobs with it. Boston is not a large city when compared to a lot of other teams plus there stadium is tiny yet somehow they manage not only to pony up large payrolls but still make a lot of money.Do you really think it makes sense that the RedSox spend the way they do yet the Mets spend as little as possible
You are confusing can spend with willing to spend. The Mets just had a guy pay 2.2 billion for an 80 percent stake in the Mets why can’t they spend. Why can’t both Texas teams both Chicago teams all the California teams the Phillies and numerous other teams spend. They are all based in huge population markets. Its often the ineptitude of the team or just plain cheapness that prevents these teams from spending
@Dodgethis
I believe it was Connor that hosted a chat a few days ago proving that people who use the word mute the way you just did are completely “idiotic.” The word you are looking for is MOOT. Moot and mute have totally different meanings and it is no coincidence that certain people who overestimate their own intelligence confuse the two. I actually agree with a lot of things you stated from a worldwide standpoint. However… That is a MOOT point because being employed by a Major League Baseball team is a privilege. They agree on payroll rules themselves and they ALL support them. Everyone from the Marlins to the Yankees agrees on these rules because they want the entire league to have parity so they can ALL continue to make money. If players don’t like MLB rules they are legally more than welcome to go play for another league in Japan or Korea or wherever. Plenty have done that before VERY successfully. If they don’t want to do that then it must be because the MLB rules are actually working well enough to make players more money.
@ AtlSoxfan
Market has to do with money available, not necessarily population. It could just be that the baseball fans in Boston happen to have less money available to spend on baseball games than some other cities. There are massive cities in China. That doesn’t mean it’s a good place to put an MLB team. It’s a business built around making money. That’s how the players and owners get paid.
Uh, you mean like the 90s when you guys smoked the Yankees for all those championships??? Oh yeah, my bad, you actually didn’t do that, at all.
Acuna and Alvie’s will be complaining in due time. Dont you worry. And they will have their contracts reworked.
Sore loser post. It’s not “buying a championship”. Free agency keeps players from being slaves and it’s logical that big market teams will have more money to spend. Acuna and Albies signed terrible deals for themselves out of greed and worry over injury, they took the money they had, when they would’ve made more otherwise. Nothing unselfish about stupidity.
So because of greed, they took much less money than they could have? Yeah, that makes tons of sense…
Good players make millions in arbitration. Very well-paid slaves.
Agree!
I think you need to look up what slave means
Why? The league has the money to spend. All that NFL money ends up in the owners pockets. I much rather see the players get paid because it is them I want to see perform
In 4 years the yankees fans will complain worse than philly fans
We had reasons to complain.
9 years $324M for a 6 WAR guy. As an Angel fan, I would like to have him, but not at that sticker price.
Cole had almost a 7 war. War average cost is over 9 million dollars. as an i angel fan, Artie blew it.
It is going to be funny if Cole now returns to what he was in Pittsburgh, knowing he has the money now and wasn’t it Cole that Yankee fans didn’t want a mere two years earlier, saying he wasn’t worth the Yankees prospects that the Pirates wanted in return? What a difference a year makes. It is also possible that Cole will need TJS, wiping out a year and that he wouldn’t be the same pitcher he was in Houston, making the contract another albatross around the Yankees neck. So many things can happen and we shouldn’t forget Nick Adenhart, Fernandez, or the Angels Tyler Skaggs that were also hyped as their teams future with lots of championships. No one knows how it will turn out, but fans hope for the best, but they should also be prepared for the worst. One line drive off the bat can end a pitcher’s career instantly, leaving teams on the hook for the remainder of their contract.
You must be fun at parties.
Except this could be said about any player at any time.
Actually Artie didn’t blow it. If they spent this much on one pitcher, it would be pretty much all they could get. In reality, Cole does not make the Angels a playoff team. They Angels need multiple pitchers in order to complete with the likes of the Astros. I would much rather have 2 of the available pitchers than Cole. Can they land 2 of the available pitchers? If recent history tells us anything, probably not. They probably will not get even one. They also have a hole a catcher that needs to be filled. Big contracts have not panned out for the Angels, Pujols, Hamilton, Mo Vaughn, Gary Matthews, to name a few. I would rather them spread the money around rather than put all the eggs in one basket. There is no guarantee that Cole can ever repeat what he did last season. In fact, I would bet that he does not.
EEYORE is that you??
You bet he doesn’t repeat the best season since Pedro in ‘99? How brave of you
Lol you’re making excuses for another incompetent horrible offseason. Trout made a huge mistake staying on a team that won’t build around him.
He was a 6.8 WAR and as a matter of fact that would make the 36 mill per year look like a steal so bad example
Do you mean squeaky Melch?
He’s gonna look weird after a shave and haircut…
2 bits
Kudos to Brian Cashman. Imagine if Stanton plays to his abilities. Wow.
Kudos to Brian Cashman? For what? Writing a check out of Hal’s account? He did nothing but get swindled here. 9 years and an opt out. The only thing this deal does strategically (other than getting the player) is absurdly drive up the price of free agents—which is probably desirable for them.
Remind us all how well that massive contract for jacoby worked out for y’all
I know, looking for all the “fans” that bad mouth the Steinbrenner’s and Cashman. They’ll never put out that much money. Another BS story, made a competitive offer but so&so just beat us out. Maybe now they will STFU. I doubt it. Congratulation Cash & Steinbrenner family
I like Cole, but I still hate the Yankees. Wish he could have gone to the Angels
Don’t get too excited. Reality check: The Astros had Cole, Greinke, and Verlander and a better lineup than the Yankees and still didn’t win it all this year.. They came close, but fell short. There are no guarantees in baseball. There was the same buzz when Jeter gave Stanton to the Yankees for nothing, but that hasn’t exactly panned out. I remember that that team was “unstoppable” as well. The truth is the Yankees have won as many WS as my Angels in the past 20 years, one to be exact. You can reminisce about the 1920 Babe Ruth or 1950 Mantle teams when they were dominant, but truth is none of us were alive to remember those teams.
This is true. Kids graduating college next year will only be old enough to remember the Yankees winning the WS once. Meanwhile they will remember the Red Sox winning 4 titles. Let’s not pretend Cashman has done a good job since Stick Michael gifted him the Core 4.
Oh I am here nine year commitment you’ll probably get about four good years out of the nine
Jesus
Thus could be worse than the Stanton deal. 9 years 325 mill? Wow. They’ll get at best 6 years of good value but 35-38 is where it could turn sour.
Not if he ages like Verlander. Verlander is 37 and still top 5 pitcher in the game.
When you say it like that, it sounds kinda suspicious…
Unlikely that he will. Not very many pitchers are like verlander
Yeah but if hes a top pitcher for 6 years and is even CC Sabathia of 2 years ago the last 3 years thats a great signing by the Yankees. Six years from now salaries are going to be much higher
Many well known people in the baseball analytic community believe Cole will age similarly to Verlander, Scherzer, and Kershaw. If there is 1 pitcher deserving of this money, it’s probably Cole.
Well if he’s anything like Kershaw his fastball will be sitting 89-90mph in his second year of that 9 year contract
Sorry but no ball player deserves this money. Happy for the Cole’s truly but the Yankees will regret this day.
I agree that no pitcher deserves that money. Cole is great, he deserves the record deal. But, there’s some position players who deserve this money. Trout, Bellinger, Mookie off the top of my head
That is entirely speculative
That’s just your wishful thinking bud.
Got even better when he went to the Astros…hmmm. It’s not like they cheat.
How many players have aged like Verlander?
Regardless if it turns sour in the latter years, if they win two championships it’ll be worth it. The Yankees have finally stepped up. Congratulations. This coming from a
Mets fan.
If Verlander shared his “magic beans” with Cole he could age similarly
6 good years? Cole has only been really good in 3 of his first 6 seasons. Other 3 he wasnt bad, but wasnt a dominate arm.
I guess you are saying 3.22 era with a 1.17 whip isn’t really good since he had 3 years under a 3 era. How many pitchers have done that ever in their career. Zack Wheeler has never done that and he just signed a 100 million dollar plus contract, Then two of his other 3 years he had a 3.65 and a 3.88 era. I think those are a lot better then not bad, Both of those years probably place him in the top 20 percent of all pitchers
Dabofus going to the Padres game And? If a team operated with that attitude they would never add a great player from outside their team in their entire history. You can’t add an already great player without taking long term risk. Yeah these contracts tend to go bad down the line, but it’s either risk taking some bad years or guarantee you get none of their great ones. You just hope you win enough to make it worth it before it goes bad.
He can opt out after 5 years. He wont because he’ll never get that if he opts out
Honest question: Would it surprise you if Giancarlo Stanton had a top-ten offensive player (in all MLB) year next year? Because that would surprise exactly one person if you said yes. He has trouble staying healthy and that sucks, but he’s one of the best hitters in the game and he’s still in his prime. No one is truly worth the money any of these guys make, but let’s not pretend Stanton couldn’t earn it next year, and for years coming.
Great power hitter, but I wouldn’t say one of the best hitters in the game.
Agree with you on Stanton. Horrible season just gone injury wise but near as damn it ever present the two seasons before. I believe he’s unlikely to opt out at the end of next season ;o)
Very much so. As an Orioles fan I’m a bit relieved by this move. Lots of dreadful and constricting contracts on this roster now.
Still none as bad as Chris Davis
For the Orioles that contract has been dreadful thus far—and likely for its remainder. Doesn’t in any way alter my initial point re Cole. This will, invariably, prove an awful contract. Even more so when coupled with the Stanton deal.
Touché. Lol.
Not if they win a World Series or 3.
Just cause you want it to happen doesn’t mean it will.
Dimitrios that’s a large claim to stake. Cole is the best pitcher in the game. He’s built just like Justin Verlander and the Yankees have more money than anyone in the sport. As much as I want this deal to turn sour for the Yankees; I can easily see Cole shutting down the ALE for the next 6-7 years before taking a step backwards.
The only silver lining for the Orioles is that the team is a couple years off. In my estimation, there’s really next to no chance Cole isn’t anything but dominant for the next few seasons. — that won’t really impact the O’s. But I don’t view this as a good thing. It’s better than having them sign an in His prime ace 2 years from now; but I definitely don’t think it’s good for us.
The Nats definitely don’t regret Scherzer. The Stros don’t regret Verlander. The Yankees very well may never regret Cole. This isn’t a Stanton deal. I can’t see that.
Did that cover the cost of the garbage cans too? Pretty average in Pittsburgh…
Lol ignorance and sourness.
Yes. Houston’s analytics got so good that they didn’t hit the garbage can when the hitter was sitting fastball, once when the batter was sitting on a change, and twice when the batter was sitting off speed.
Wow
Wow. Good for him.
Wow
Who didn’t see this coming? Angels fans?
Angel fan here. No one is worth that cash unless they are named Mike Trout (but it still doesn’t solve our pitching woes).
No guy who plays once a week is worth 100 million or more
I thought about it after the stras deal, these guys are getting upwards of a million per start. Not that they’re not fully deserving, or that that is all the work that goes into being an MLB SP, but its incredible how much money there is to be had out there.
fighting69th I think we’ve seen enough examples to realize what a great arm can do for a team in October. This guy who plays once a week is a game changer for the Yankees. If Cole shows up in the playoffs and ends a big reason why they win a championship or two, he’s worth every penny.
Stras set the market so no one should be surprised what Cole got. Plus the Nats like deferring money so they can pay them after retirement.
Good point.Also it makes the other pitcher in the rotation better as Sevy no longer number one now 2. Paxton now 3 etc.It changed the Yankee rotation from alright to one of the best rotations in baseball with one signing
MadBum….hello. And you get to save 200 mil
Lol says the sore loser who would be saying the opposite if his team actually tries to win. By the way extending Cole and surrounding him with that sorry bunch is pathetic.
Most of us were prepared to lose a pissing match with the NY money machine.
The NY Money machine?? You mean the one that didnt make a splash like this since signing Tanaka, which pales in comparison to this. I, for one, think this is an ABSURD amount of money to spend on one player for any organization, and the back end of the contract will probably be terrible, but man, oh man, a bonafide stud as an ace for the next 6 years sounds pretty pretty nice.
Ummm – taking on $300M for Stanton was a pretty big splash.
Before talking about the next six years let’s just see if he can prove his worth this next year. An absurd deal that, combined with Stanton, will limit and hurt your club.
Starlin Castro for Stanton and Cash. Lol
Lol not at all. Stanton is opting out after a big year next year, spoiler alert.
The one that consistently sits in the top 3 payrolls and just acquired a $300 million player in Stanton?
Yes, the NY money machine. Normally pretty smart money though, no Pujols level mistakes.
Stanton is never opting out of that contract. Only in your wettest of wet dreams would that occur. They’re saddled with him. It’s hard for me to say Cole won’t prove to be a solid investment for the next 5-6+ years though. He’s a big durable RH. If you want the model for mechanics, body size and sustainability it’s Verlander. Cole looks a lot like that and probably learned a thing or two from him. Going against Cole is going to suck for all the other ALE teams. He’s the real deal.
Haha they got Bundy tho
It’s still early December. We’ll get more. Probably not enough, but more.
You won’t but that’s cute. Bumgarner is going to Minnesota or the real LA team and Keuchel is going to the other. But hey you can get Porcello.
The Brooklyn transplants with the stolen logo can have MadBum’s decline.
Bundy is potentially a nice move.
Listen, huge Yankee fan, and pumped as hell about the Cole signing, and I’m not saying they’re at all equal…but I will say: If the Angels pitching coaches are worth their weight in salt I think a lot of Angel fans are going to be very pleasantly surprised by Dylan Bundy. I wanted the Yankees to trade for him very badly.
Angels fan here, wow good for him. Not going to hate on Cole or Yankees at all, congrats to both parties.
I’m actually good with this… The last thing our franchise needs another nine or 10 year deal for a player… Especially a pitcher who has maybe five good years left and is due for an injury. then you’re just talking about dead money. We can go spend money on two or three starting pitchers now and still get rendon or Donaldson to play third
Lol.
Angel fan here. I had him going to the Yankees in that free agent contest for what it’s worth (not much).
I’m glad the Angel’s didn’t try to “up” that deal. Now, the saltiness of Angel fans depends on how the Angel’s pivot to plan B. Plan B may also pave or crumble the Path Forward for Epplers future in Anaheim.
Plan A was Bundy while pretending to be after Cole.
Plan B is Porcello
Plan C is a Trout booking an October vacation.
I am an angel fan checking in let’s talk after nine years and see how this deal works out for you LOL
I hate to be called out I wish you would be humble and just enjoy it
Woohoo!
Holy **** that’s a ton of money
Could be the first 9-year deal given to a pitcher that works out.
And it could be the new Chris Davis deal but for pitchers. Two can play this game.
Ya, I’m good with the Angels not making this deal. 9 years is absurd
Agreed. I’m a Yankees fan and I’m only so-so happy. I don’t mind the money, I do mind the years…
It would be worse if it was that much money over less years..how does your comment make any sense?
Because you’re not stuck in the deal as long.
Angels fans should be relieved! And I’m a nats fan who knows the importance of starting pitching. Getting one of the ryu/MadBum type guys and swinging another trade (probably one bigger than Bundy), plus hoping a change of scenery helps Bundy seems like a much better plan for them. For the Yankees, on the other hand, Cole-Severino-Paxton is terrifying and immediately gives them the best top 3 in baseball. I can definitely understand why the yanks made this the big money guy they finally prioritized.
Scherzer/stras/Corbin disagree with the best top 3 in baseball comment.
Perhaps we’ll find out. #WS2020
Scherzer is finally aging like eggs instead of wine. Just wait for the stink next year. The delicious stink of sulfur because I love him and you for the baseball.
Best top three is Suzan and Ritter and the landlord!
I know we had three guys finish top 11 in cy young voting this year, but I definitely like the yanks guys at this point even though max is the best of the six.
And how much are those Nats pitchers getting paid after they retire with the deferred money?
???. Deferred money, even with interest lowers the NPV of the contract. It also has nothing to do with their ability (obviously). Stras took deferred money to help the nats be more flexible during the life of his contract, and is now pushing the nats to re-sign Rendon. That was a part of the way he negotiated his deal, to help the Nats get Rendon back. I would say paying deferred money would be worth it.
As a Nats fan you must hate the Strasburg deal then. He’s two years older so the contract actually covers the same years but the Yanks get 2 years of Cole in his prime.If you feel that way I guess you are really pissed the Nats signed Strasburg
it’s happening!!!
Eye roll.
Wow that’s a ton of money
9 years? Goodness
Line up the Championships!
LMFAO!!!
…and increase Yankee Stadium prices so that the core fans can’t even see a game..
Still amazes me that people still think that these two things are in any way related
They’re certainly not. Ticket prices increase because there are people willing to pay it. The day they dry up is when prices will come down.
I’m not a Yankees fan, but you’re right. Here come a few World Series titles. I mean, the Yankees had just about everything go wrong for them last year: Judge injured. Stanton barely played. Hicks injured. Severino barely played. Gregorius injured. Andujar injured.
And they still won over 100 games.
If things even go half right in 2020, they will win 110+ games.
But you’re forgetting baseball is baseball. Using run differential Houston this year was the best offense in history of the game, edging out 2017 Dodgers, and 2004 Cards. None of those teams won the title. Best team only gets you to the playoffs. And then a team like the Nats gets hot and can outpitch you.
You can’t measure a teams offensive ability by run differential.
Now imagine if Cole gets injured!
Only three teams in the last 92 effing seasons have won 110 games. You’re the second person in this thread to say they’ll do it without much effort and I’m only 1/3 of the way through the comments. Pump the brakes, people. They’ll be a great team, but 110 games is a lot of wins.
Wow. Well imo they had the most to lose by not signing him. Rendon to the Angels now I’m guessing
The angels need elite pitching
They have fletcher
They have la Stella
They have no pitching.
This is just like the josh Hamilton situation. We need pitching.
Can you please remind your front office of that? We really, really want Rendon in Texas.
Lol
But are the Twins still the mystery team?!? Enquiring minds want to know!
No true Minnesota fan thought they were the mystery team.
Math, the mystery teams are made up by Boris. I wonder why his clients signed so early, instead of his usual spring training?
OH GOD
Thats what I wanted to see.
Not because of the back end risk to the high dollar deal.
I like it because it signals a (possible) return to the competitive fire in FA that’s been missing since the Boss died.
Good for baseball. Good for the rivalry. Good fo competition. Now I hope they keep it up and it wasn’t a one-time, one player shot
@AtlSoxFan
Dilly dilly!
Well said.
Overpriced free agents are, in point of fact, horrible for baseball.
I don’t really think he is overpriced.
Pujols is overpriced. Cole is just about where he should be for the value he brings.
Blame it on Marvin Miller, because before he came up with Free Agency, you could only play for a different team if you got traded or released.
CALLED IT
You and 80% of the baseball community
Nope those 80% said Angels.
And?
I figured the Giants
I’m sure that contract will look good in a few years time…
Does it matter? It’s not like the Yankees can’t afford to pay him 30 mil to be 5th starter/inning filler in the last couple years of the contract and still sign someone else to a mega contract if they want. This contract is honestly barely even a risk to them. And if it brings in a ring or two it will look like a good deal no matter how bad he is in 9 years
Of course they cannot afford to pay him an AAV of—correction!—$42+ million per year. They’ve convinced themselves they can but the annual salary is 20% of the way to $208 million, past which they pay the luxury tax.
They barely spend much of their revenue and with the dodgers flush with a new TV contract and great attendance the Yanks had to go an extra year and a couple million extra a year. Yanks should have been in on Didi at that price and looked to trade andujar and/or Torres.
Who is to say it’s *this* contract you assess the tax against and not some other contract? That’s pretty arbitrary.
No, you value it based on the flat salary called for in the document. Who knows if the cbt will even existing 2 years let alone the rate
Holy hell that’s a lotta cash!!
I hope his elbow starters to ache in March
You must be a really shi**y person!
What a stupid comment to make.
@Bluemarlin, Ralphie and Windy are right man. What a repugnant comment. As a fan of baseball, and one who loves excellence in sport, regardless of what ball club a player plays for, I wish the very best for Cole and his health going forward. This deal, as crazy as it may seem, is indicative of the health of our game. I’m happy for Cole and for the competition in the AL East.
I’m not one to wish harm on someone, but I’m also not a person to leave a politically correct statement about someone wishing harm on someone. A lot of weak souls in the world.
I’m happy the angels didn’t do this deal lol time to move on and sign Rendon, Bumgarner, and Ryu
Lots more injuries waiting to happen there in that trio.
No you’re not, you’re just saying it to alleviate the pain and the Angels are not getting those three.
Does Rendon sign during the winter meetings?
Wow. Really wanted my Angels to pull the trigger on this guy! Oh well. Good for Cole!
So much for the importance of his roots in Southern California.
Haha I wasn’t hanging my hat on that. I’d sign with a team out of Antarctica if it meant $36,000,000 annually
Newport Beach is only about a 6 hour flight from the Big Apple in your own private jet.
I think less than that, no?
Been saying it wouldn’t matter.
Congrats to the Yankees. They can afford to make big mistakes. Glad my Halos didn’t grab him at this price point. Great pitcher but yikes. That is one freaking huge contract.
Why would you care if the angels have him this contract? For one it’s not your money and it’s not like you guys have a lot of talent or big contracts on that team.
If you have followed the Angels you would know that the team has been severely handcuffed with bad deals in the past. Wells, Hamilton and Pujols have all hurt significantly. You’ll understand in a few years when the Yanks are paying $70M for Cole and Stanton as they are injured or performing poorly. It happens. Father Time always wins and paying people $30M/year in their late 30’s rarely works out.
That said, you should get 4-5 good years out of him so long as he avoids TJ surgery.
I believe the Yankees were paying Stantons contract and Ellsburys contract last year and got pretty much zero contributions from the two. It hurt their season a lot. They only won 100 games. Don’t be such a hater your jealousy is showing
@bjsguess
Says the guy who would be praising Moreno if he made this deal. Haters gonna hate.
It’s a terrible deal and no I wouldn’t be praising Arte Moreno if he signed him for that ridiculous contract. Yeah, I would be happy Gerrit Cole is an Angel but I guarantee you the last 3-4yrs of that deal is going to be money thrown away.
Really, you can guarentee it? Ok Nostradamus.
Go check the earlier thread – posted today before the deal went live. I clearly stated that if bidding was really 9 years and approaching $300M I wouldn’t want the Angels to sign him.
Not sour grapes at all. It’s a massive overpay (as was the Strasburg deal). I wish Cole the best. He’s one heck of a pitcher. The Yankees will probably get 2-3 surplus years, 2-3 “worth his contract” years, and 3-4 negative value years. That’s how these super long contracts go. The Yankees can afford deals like this. The Angels can’t.
Here’s the thing. MLB payroll as a whole has risen roughly at a rate of 50% every 10 years. In real world terms that means a given caliber of player making 30m today will command $45m 10 years from now, and, would’ve gotten 20m a decade ago.
By the time you risk the decline years, Cole will only be making about 70% of what the then-premier player will pull in a new deal.
When you look at it like that, and then account for what inflation will mean, I don’t think things are so doom and gloom
Good lort! 36MM aav?!??
Five years and his arm is trash. Good job Yankees!
Have fun with that contract. Plus a fly ball pitcher in that little league park without the help of the Astros creative techniques will not make a good mix over time
pretty sure he will just take the pine tar w him
Just think last yrs club went 6games of the ALCS with literally a ML record amount of injuries . This team’s so stacked with just incredible depth . I was so proud of what my yanks accomplished with all those injuries last yr and now we add what we lacked for awhile, which is a bona fide ace in Cole? Hell yeah!!!!
Also yanks still got tons of ammo if they wanted to add another piece via trade . Guys like Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier and 20yr old already in triple A Deivi Garcia just for starters! Freaking franchise is just stocked from ML level right thru .fired up!!!
Yeah he was terrible in Yankee stadium in NY wasn’t he. In the playoffs his breaking stuff wasn’t working and he shut down arguably the best hr hitting team in baseball. Good point
Sashabanksfan, I like your account name.
Hope the Angels drove that price up. Now go get Ryu, Madbum, and Rendon for less money
No not really. That just drives the price of every other free agent now.
Meh. Cole was the ceiling. If anything he set the cap on what can be earned this offseason.
If the Yankees win one championship in the next 9 years, they’ll get a return on their investment.
I thought once a decade wasn’t acceptable to Yankees fans?
I had known Cashman will get it done. I’m sure he’s not done, Happ? I’m a RS fan, but you gotta admire Cashman’s talent as a GM. The Evil Empire soars.
Thank you for having some class…so many people here with negative comments. You’re a good fan.
you don’t need to be a great gm all you need is to be able to offer THAT contract…the worst gm in baseball would’ve signed him for THAT contract
Please no more comments Yankee fans about cheap ownership/management
In that tiny stadium, being cheap on power wouldn’t hurt as much.
A million a start if he makes every start. Wow.
And they won’t want him to pitch more than 5 innings per start, if possible. Load management here we come. It seems like the bigger the contract, the more fragile the player will be considered, and so the more the team treats the player with kid gloves. Don’t be surprised if the Yankees skip more than a few of his starts in order to keep him fresh for October.
@realsox, sounds like a smart plan to me
Why would you say that. Throughout Sabbathias carrer in NY they never limited his innings. They got Cole because he gives them a 200 innings a year pitcher. Give some proof for your statement. they treated with kid gloves because of injuries and the fact that Japanese pitchers only throw once a week in Japan.Other then that there is no basis for your comment
Besides pitchers don’t even make 36 starts in a season
This comment section will be one for the ages. 9 x 324 holy freaking moly!!1!
And Mazara going to the White Sox. Not that anyone cares after this news…
My goodness, 9 years $324MM
I’d pass on that deal. It will be bad by year 4.
I hear a flushing sound
Ever since that photo of him in 2011, this seemed inevitable…
Can’t hate in a guy for taking huge money to immediately compete for a ring.
Hopefully this means the Angels fill several holes instead of one.
Make sure you thanks Strasburg also for getting that deal!
Hey good for him, not a hater, the man has 324 million reasons to come to NYC.
I wish all free agents the best, they all worked very hard to get where they are, and want them to get every cent they can get.
Playing any sport is N.F.L not for long so go get it.
Boras is a genius.
I can’t stand Boras, n he changed his pattern this yr not dragging the signings off till spring training. That was refreshing instead of the drama the last few yrs with dragging it out.
I’m very happy the Angels lost the bidding for Cole. 9 years for ANY pitcher is irresponsible. Our young pitchers will be fine and Ohtani returning is the same as signing an ace.
Congratulations to the Yankees and Gerrit Cole. Too rich for the halos blood IMO.
Hopefully now to spread out the money and fill multiple significant needs.
3 year 324 mil??? wow.
Surprised the Yankees went to 9
Wow 3 years!? That crushes the AAV record! Lmao do better writer
Haha
a least is not a long contract
And boom goes the dynamite
Three years? for $324MM?
Heads up, it says three year $324 million. Which, admittedly, would be crazy.
He’s going to make $108M per year!!!????
(Originally reported as three years, $324M, hah)
Christmas came early for Cole.
Only team that can afford a 300 mil player while already having a 300 mil player
I was 100% wrong on this. Good job Yankees. Cole and Severino might be the best 1-2 in the game.
Still scherz and Strasburgs title to lose imo
True. Scherzer and Strasburg are still the best!
Cole and Paxton you mean. Severino has a lot to prove once he’s healthy.
3/324? yankees must have gone loco!
I don’t want to hear about the Yankees being on the cutting edge of anything. 9-years for a soon to be 30-yr old pitcher is not smart. Yes, the 1st 5, maybe 6, years should be fine. The last 3 years, not so much. Hal must have a lot more revenue than I even imagined. Wow.
Thata what you oay for in free agency. You pay for the prime years and deal with the decline on the back end
It’s not so bad. Contract trajectories over the last 40 years means that by the tail end of this deal wages should be, on average, nearly 50% higher tHan now.
So, in the final year of this deal Cole should be earning 70% of whatever that years premier FA is pulling down.
Not so bad viewed in that light
By that argument the Trout signing terrible. The Arenado signing terrible.The Machado signing terrible. The “add any name here” terrible. Because of the way baseball is set up young players get screwed so when people make free agency they have to go for all they can get. .For every Cole contract theres Torres and Judge and Severino and Urshela and Andujar and Sanchez and Devers and Soto etc making peanuts
whoooaaaaaa good for him…
Also, Eppler and the Angels shouldn’t feel down about this. No time for regret or sadness… pivot to who’s next and move on.
Who is next? If they angels trade for price. Season tickets from many people get thrown in the trash.
Price is 100% NOT the move. Bumgardner, Rendon, Ryu, Keuchel…. In that order… Of course, not all.
Look back into the trade market if these FA ventures fall short.
This team is starting to look like the McCourt‘s dodgers. They just traded the 15 pick in last years draft to dump 13 mil on cozarts salary.
Right now when draft pics have never been at a higher value. This whole thing stinks of bad trash
Will Wilson was never a sexy pick. Read some of the scouting reports on him and you’ll see his power isn’t suggested to play well in the majors, not with a wood bat. He MAY become a decent regular some day but I’d hardly think twice trading him for the opportunity to add multiple starters and Rendon or Donaldson.
@halofan –
You realize that price has quietly turned in similar value and performance over the past 5 years as what strasburg has right? Just look at his era+ numbers, compare the two guys.
If boston pays down about 5-7m per year to account for injury risk and age it’s a good contract. If price has the same year as last year, but healthy, then he’s worth every bit of full contract value.
People are buying into the hype and not looking at the stats/numbers.
@AtlSoxFan –
Oh c’mon. Price is nowhere near Strasburg as of late for so many reasons. I refuse to look back 5 seasons as that’s not really indicative of what’s happening today and moving forward. We’ll do some Comparison of the past 3 seasons:
Age (2020 season):
Price: 35 in August
Strasburg: 32 in July
Innings the past 3 seasons:
Price: 358
Strasburg: 514.1
ERA past seasons:
Price: 3.75
Strasburg: 3.19
WHIP past 3 seasons:
Price: 1.216
Strasburg: 1.084
WAR past 3 seasons:
Price: 7.8
Strasburg: 15.3
Enough with the comparison though because it’s irrelevant to who the Angels may or may not get given that both are under contract with other teams.
To complete my argument as to why the Angels should NOT trade for David Price is injury history and age related to what remains on the Free Agent market as of this morning; Baumgardner (Age 31 season), Keuchel (Age 32 season), and Ryu (Age 33 season). All at least 2 years younger. None of the three have documented carpal tunnel syndrome. Look, injuries happen. But something like carpal tunnel syndrome, you know it’s just a matter of when that he, sadly, won’t be able to grip a ball again.
Lastly, even if the Red Sox ate, what you pitched, $5-7M per year (We’ll use $6M for presentation), it would still be, from what I assess to be at least $4M more than either of Bumgardner, Kuechel or Ryu, plus the other above reasons I mentioned.
In no sane world, should the Angels trade for David Price, if Bumgardner, Kuechel, Ryu or even a handful of others for that matter, are still available.
AtlSoxFan how come the RedSox were so bad last year.You argue Porcello was a league average pitcher and Price is as good as Strasburg.I know Rodriguez had a good year. Why were the Red Sox so bad.Wake up your pitching staff was terrible
Glad Halos didn’t get seduced into another ridiculous contract. It’s Puljos again after a few years. I suppose Baumgarntner is next on the list.
I hope they don’t get mad bum. He is not worth 100mil. I’d like him in the payoffs but not in 162 games and not away from San Fran in the national league.
5 years too long.
Gonna be funny when they lose 9 straight ALCS series. 5 of them walk off loses. 4 that are either sweeps or losing 4-1
He won’t be the same level pitcher even 5 years from now. It’ll be great until he ages
Yankees the Braves of the new decade. 10 straight divisional wins and one world series championship
wow…i honestly thought it would be angels
lmao why?
i never understood why anyone actually though the incompetent angels FO would be the ones to pony up
Was Cole part of the cheating legacy of Astros?
Not in 2017, but since then yes. Not sure if you remember how the Astros destroyed Darvish in the playoffs, Darvish was a FA, guess they felt guilty cuz they came out saying he was tipping pitches. I guess they realized they were destroying his career too.
How did any of the alleged cheating schemes benefit Cole?
He didn’t get paid based on W/L aka winning percentage. He got paid based on his era/era+/fip – none of which were really aided much by anything astros hitters did, they didn’t face the bulk of mlb pitchers enough to skew league wide metrics
As an Angels fan. I am glad Arte isn’t paying that contract. Hell of a pitcher, but we need multiple studs. Good for the Yankees. They are the team to beat in the AL
Oh please, if they could swap the money for Pujols and give it to Cole they would in a heartbeat. Angels FO has been a disaster for years! Sorry but this is just true.
The Eppler era has not been bad. We have a really good farm now, and money to sign free agents. And Sure if the angels swapped the Pujols money for Cole, can you name any team that wouldn’t?! Sorry but THAT is just true
I agree. You can’t compare the Pujols signing to this. Pujols career was already in decline when he signed that contract. Thats why the Cardinals let him walk. Cole is entering his prime years.Halo fans have to stop writing revisionist history
I hate the yankees. However it’s a must for them. He was the ace they have needed for a while. They automatically are the favorites now for the A.L. Cole was the main reason Houston beat the Yankees.
Don’t forget the computer screens in center field!
Don’t forget about the trashcan!
Stupid comment.The trashcans helped the hitters not the pitchers
$108MM a year for 3???? Typo?
Math say 9 years, $36MM per
on one hand, i like that we got cole
on the other hand, i have a bad feeling about this
I wonder why Boris got his guys signed so early? His pattern is to drag it out till spring training.
Boras advises players, however, it’s really up to the individual player what he wants to see happen with his FA.
You’re seeing the preference of these particular guys.
This article says 3 years – $324m. Incredible $108m AAV. Imagine that luxury tax hit, lol.
That would be more than 13 team’s entire payroll last year lmao
Three-year contract???????
Lol wow. His numbers will not hold up in NY, neither will his arm pitching in cold weather most of the year, just like his time in Pittsburgh. The Angels were smart not to take on this insane contract. Now, go get Bumgarner, trade for Robbie Ray and sign Rendon.
In Pittsburgh other then in 2017 when he had a 4.26 era his eras were in order 3.22 3.65 2.60 3.88 and his whips were 1.17 1.21 1.09 1.25 so what the hell are you talking about
Good job by the Yankees, Rendon i am almost certain will end up with the Rangers.
am i the only one reading 3 years? lmao
Man I need to hire Scott Boras
$108M annually?! Insane!
Jesus he could buy a small country with that dough
Holy crap
A whole lot of money Yankees better pray he doesn’t get injured
Yankees can buy all the fa’s they want and still lose in the ALCS
Or not?
With just the Strasburg ($245M) and Cole ($324M) contracts, Boras earned ~$32M in commission. He still has Anthony Rendon yet to be signed and has about 80 other players…. insane.
I wonder if he is hiring right now. lol
No pitcher is worth that much. Idiots.
Lmao Angels fans really thought Cole was going to sign with their 72 win team. The Yankees are the clear favorites to win the World Series now
Easy big fella, still early – plenty of great teams out there with moves to be made!
The Yankees won 103 games last year despite putting 31 players on the IL. They already had the best lineup and bullpen in the league and now have at least a top 5 rotation if not better. If they’re not the clear favorites I don’t know who is
People say that about certain teams every year (“they’re the favorite to win the World Series”) And those teams almost never win the World Series that year.
Whether they win or not of course is in doubt.Noone knows what will happen but saying they are the clear favorites I doubt think is in doubt
He would have signed with them if they outbid the Yanks.
At the time of me writing this comment, the post says three years, might want to fix that.
Saw that too. Whoever approved that contract should be fired
It’s supposed to be nine years, Connor fixed it now.
Yesssss
Let the haters start hating!!!!!
The Evil Empire Strikes Again!!!!!!
Go Yankees!!!!
Great pitcher but too much and too long. Almost impossible for him to live up to that contract. Around $65 million per tied up in just 2 players between him and Stanton for the next 8 years. I guess enjoy the next few years (hopefully) and white-knuckle it after that.
They’re the Yankees, they have more money than God. No other team in baseball can throw out contracts like that and not care if they flop on the back end.
They can they just dont. The yankees don’t care about the luxury tax threshold. they’re probably about 75mil over after this deal.
Yeah not close they werent anywhere near 40 mill over luxury tax last year. Even Boston wasn’t that far over the threshold last year but good point
Three year, 324MM contract???
Angels just cleared 12 mil by giving up their 2019 first rounder and miss their shot at an ace. I’m seeing them give MadBum nine figures out of desperation soon
I think clearing Cozart hints at not only the angels preparing to spend a lot of money, but also clearing money to acquire Rendon or Donaldson. They still have the money they were going to use to get Cole, that can now be allocated to Ryu or MadBum or any other free agent pitcher. Let’s not forget, the angels lineup isn’t scary other than Trout and Ohtani.picking up a top tier third basemen would be huge. Allowing Fletcher to move to second, La Stella the utility guy. Fletch can also play OF. Rengifo also can be a utility type player
It’s funny because in my baseball stimulation a.k.a. MLB the show Madison Bumgarner went to the angels in 2020
The poor Angels, they just can’t get it together. They need a Cashman!
lol what did Cashman do? all he did was say a number , and Boras and cole said yes…anyone on this app could do that lol.
2026-2029 is going to be difficult for the Yankees financially Stanton and Cole ouch
Top 5 value in all of sports, I think they’ll be ok.
@Johan – by then payrolls and contract values per year will have increased to where it’s not as painful as you think
People, when a team signs an 8+ year deal, they’re expecting the back end of the deal to suck…this Yankee team is in win now mode for the next 4-5 years so if he’s good for the first 5 of 9 years….that’s what they need. Use your heads. It’s a TON of money, but they haven’t spent on a player like this in 7 years….and the pitching market the next couple years is absolutely atrocious. It’s now or never.
Yep! Yankees can easily afford it in the back end of the deal too.
Coreymac don’t waste your time. This is just haters hating the Yankees. When the Bosox were destroying the luxury tax threshold for the last couple of years with the Yankees nowhere in sight they still were calling the Yankees the evil empire. Any other team would’ve signed Cole and there would’ve been nowhere near this amount of vitriol Strasburgs contract will end when hes the same age as Cole. Cole is a much better pitcher earning one million more per year yet the difference in response is huge. Nats good signing Yanks boy are they in trouble.Very few people attacked the Nationals for that signing and the Yanks get 2 prime years of Cole while Strasburg is already past his prime
Lol good luck with that. Probably costs them Aaron judge/serverino at some point. Can’t pay every player 25mil+ a season.
Actually, the Yankees can theoretically afford to pay every player $25M. Not the 40 man but maybe the 25 man roster and certainly every starter.
They had gross revenue of $650M a few years ago. They used to pay up to 81% of gross revenue towards payroll in some of the George Steinbrenner years but have been well below 40% and the league’s lowest in the last several years.
Disregarding luxury taxes that might not be there in the next CBA, it would only take ~$782M gross revenue if 80% was spent on player payroll to pay 25 players: $25M x 25 players ÷ 80% = $781.25M. The Yankees gross revenue might already be there next year especially with the new Amazon streaming deal. It certainly will be if the Yankees win the World Series making the Cole contract relative peanuts.
Well it is interesting contrasting last years free agent season with this years. Pitchers win championships I suppose
Just remember you’re paying all that money for someone who plays every 5 days.
No. You’re paying that much for someone to pitch 3 games in a 7 game series.
Holy crap. grats yanks!
I GOT THE ONLY CORRECT PREDICTION THAT MATTERS. HAHAHAHA, yes! Let’s go Yankees! Wooooo
Whoopie
Look, I’m obviously a biased Yankees fan, and I’m obviously happy to have him even though I didn’t like how he burned them out of high school, but that’s A LOT of money. I know they have more money than God, but that’s still a ridiculous number to throw a baseball.
With that said, pencil the Yankees in for at least a trip to the World Series next year and probably every year for the next 5 depending on how things shake out with the arb guys and inevitable massive contracts for Judge, Torres and Sanchez. The best thing about this is that for a team that had enough injuries to literally field a 40-man roster of guys who were hurt, this move puts them very clearly over the top.
But, I do feel like the only way Cashman makes that offer this early into the Winter Meetings is if Hal told him to either come back with Cole or don’t come back at all. This has the making of a “get it done or you’re fired” deal.
Wow! Glad Arte did not go to that 9th year for a pitcher.
And Arte will be watching the Yankees in the postseason winning while he wish he had Cole.
Yeh, love that hindsight right!
Spend months hooting and hollering about how Cole is guaranteed to sign with the Angels.
When he doesn’t, say that the other team overpaid and that you’re glad Arte didn’t beat their offer.
Classic…
sources say angels did8/300
Which sources?
MLB network said something about it… 8 years, just under $300M.
My follow Yankees fans just read the hate above.
Love it
Enjoy it
Feels oh soooooo good to be hated again.
Lmao cute evil laugh
Why do they let 12 year olds on this site?
Haven’t teams learned yet not to sign anyone over 26 to ultra huge contracts? He’ll be the highest paid 5 ERA pitcher ever in five years.
Lol @ Yankees fans.
What a get for New York though. Top contender for a World Series now.
Houston, LA, Boston – your move!
I guess this means the long arduous rebuild of the Yankees is coming to a close. Also wondering if the Angels have any good recourse now.
… And to think that there were people who actually believed that the Angels were going to to outbid the Yankees LOL
Well so much for him giving the Angels a hometown discount.
He is a Boras client. There is no home town discount.
No one gives hometown discounts these days.
Offhand porcello, trout, acuna, and albies disagree. If you go back a couple more seasons there’s more examples.
Paul O’Neil was an obvious example his last contract with the Yanks but generally the rule does hold
Fuuuuuuugggh.
Ridiculous! Yes he’s a great (pitcher) right now, but what are you gonna do when he starts declining at 34 35-36-37-38 and gotta pay him 36 million a year? No player is worth that kind of money (I don’t care how great you are) 6 years 150 million (25 a year) was more than enough (Strasburg got way over paid as well)
How come no players are worth that but you have no problem with a team like the Mets being worth 2.5 billion dollars. I guess the Wilpons deserve the money more then Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg does. They just had a 2.2 billion dollar payday. Open your eyes
your talking about an entire organization, a business, and owner of one of the most iconic teams known in sports history (the Mets) vs 1 player (Cole) you’re right, the Mets are worth 2.5 billion and Garrit Cole just made 12% of what the Mets are worth (an entire organization) that’s ridiculous. If Cole signed with the Mets that would give him 12% of what the Mets are worth. Let’s forget about the thousands of employees that need to be paid, the other players on the major league team, the team in single A, Double AA, and triple AAA, taxes, equipment, etc. like I said. No player should be paid that kind of money.
aight angels… go get rendon , ryu , keuchel , maldonado … let’s go
As much as I hate to see the Yankees get anything they want to buy, this is hilarious! Good luck on that 9 year deal guys. This is probably the worst contract signed in baseball history for everyone not named Gerrit Cole or Scott Boras.
MadBum + Ryu have a higher WAR from 2019 at half the cost. Angels with Rendon and those two, plus Trout, Othani, and Upton might be better team. Not saying they get all three, but look to the teams in comparison. One player, even if best on market, always loses to multiple good players
Oh boy!! The rich get richer. They will spend to moon and back to make sure the 10 year streak ends! For me just another reason to hate the Yankees!!
Good for him. Good for the Yankees for the next 4 or 5 years. Bad for the Yankees in years 6-9.
It’s not the money that’s the insane part, it’s the years! 9 years from ANY pitcher is asking for trouble. It’s just not wise to go that long on a high leverage arm throwing in the upper 90’s. Look at what is happening to Chris Sale. Huge risk here.
It is the Yankees, they can afford it. Most team can’t but Yankees will be fine paying him 36 million in the twilight of his career if they get what they hope the first 4-5 years of the deal
Sale has/had a lot of warning signs and issues that Cole didnt/doesnt. Biggest are body frame, delivery, and fatigue history
Delivery for sure. Sales delivery is violent. Lean and mean is fine, ie randy Johnson.
I was absolutely shocked when Boston gave sale that extension.
Oh Yea!!
Boras just made himself a nice payday with Cole and Strausburg signing mega deals
The Yankees? What a joke. Another $200mil contract. The amount of elite players teams like the Yankees can/have gotten because of money should have put them in positions to win many more championships than they actually have.
Mlb salary cap situation will probably never change. The owners likely will never budge on this, and it’s so unfortunate. They’re plenty happy with the millions they are making.
Did you really just write that? “So many more championships than they did?” They’ve won more than any franchise in any sport and not by a few…. and other teams have spent large amounts to do the same wi Th out being nearly as successful, i.e. Dodgers, Red Sucks, Etc. They’ve won 27 rings…… 27. I’d say they have a winning formula
Boston only recently started having larger payrolls in the early 2000s, and, we’re still around 30% lower than yankees up until the last couple years. In that time they won 4 WS to NYs 1. I’d say they’re doing ok at the formula too.
LA on the other hand does not make the small moves to get over the hump.
When NY racked up so many of those 27 BOS wasn’t spending big, or much at all really.
Wouldn’t have given him more than 200 million and certainly not for 9 years. Something tells me that the last 4 or 5 years of this deal won’t go well for the Yankees.
You’d never get the player if 200 is max offer.
@Darren – depends if Cole ever tries to exert any control over his own healthcare. If he does yankees will just stop paying 😉
Disgusting contract. I resign my fandom.
Uhm, ok?
No you don’t.
The Yankees won the bidding war. Congratulations. I know he makes the team a little better. I hope he doesn’t turn out like their other 300 million dollar player.
Gettig the pitcher who was second in Cy Young voting makes the team a little better.Paxton is now their 3 Tanaka their 4 and if and when German comes back their 5. How do you figure it makes them just a “little”better
And thus begins the Yankees fire sale to get under various luxury tax thresholds.
Any team that goes five years on a 30-year old pitcher is betting against the house, and they practically doubled it. That’s almost as bad as the Pujols contract. That arm going to slow down in two years, fall off in five, and all you Yankee fans will be crying like it’s Ellsbury 2.0.
It doesn’t really matter as long as he brings a championship to NY again
That’s a $325 million, 9 YEAR bet there. And you’re not playing even money…
That dude married Aaron Spelling’s daughter thinking it would get him keys to the kingdom and now he’s broke with that hag and four kids.
Pukols was already on the decline when he signed that contract Coleis in his prime.If your going to make comparisons use facts, Cole is 29 which means for at least the first 4 or 5 years of his contract he should be fine’ His last 3 or 4 are a crapshoot which might workout and might not but there is no reason he shouldn’tbe one of the best pitchers in baseball the first half of that contract.That was never the case with the Pujols contract. If you are going to make comparisons compare apples to apples not apples to oranges
Congratulations to Cole!! I wish him well. As far as the deal, Yankees messed up. No pitcher is worth that much. Cole had a good season at the right time!!
I called this from day one, when everyone said Angels. I said that he’ll sign with the Yankees or Phillies.
You want a sticker? gold star?
If the Yankees need a gullible GM to dump Happ’s $ on, call Rick Hahn!
That’s a weird way of spelling Theo Epstein.
I have a question. Strasburg is 2 years older then Cole and signed for 2 less years which means he’ll be the same age as Cole at the end of the contract.He signed for 1 million less.I didn’t see any one cursing out the Nats. I didn’t see any one killing the signing and talking about the back end of the deal. Can someone say double standard
Love him or hate him, Boras did his job again.
As a Jays fan I love this move… Yankees will be eating the rest of that contract 5 years from now. Cole isn’t opting out. 9 years at that price ? Stanton and now Cole. Yankees are back In their old ways giving out albatross contracts. He’ll be great for 3-4 years… then what