The New York Yankees have been focused on acquiring an impact starting pitcher like Gerrit Cole, but what do the Bronx Bombers have to offer?
Among all 30 teams in the league, the New York Yankees have always been one of the most sought after destinations during free agency.
For the Yankees’ sake, hopefully, that’ll be the case with current free agent Gerrit Cole. According to multiple reports, general manager Brian Cashman will have to offer Cole the moon and the sky to acquire his services this winter.
According to former-Yankee Mark Teixeira, that would involve offering a record-breaking contract to the free-agent starter.
While appearing on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” podcast, the 39-year-old spoke about the Yankees’ chances of landing Cole this offseason. Teixeira also explained about how almost every marquee free agent at least discusses a potential contract with New York before making an official decision, since they’re one of the richest organizations in the league.
“Every agent knows that if they don’t call the Yankees before their client signs they might be leaving money on the table,” Teixeira said. “Because, especially this year, with how important Gerrit Cole is to the Yankees offseason, they won’t get outbid.”
In Teixeira’s eyes, the Yankees will be forced to figuratively and literally swing for the fences with their pitch to Cole. Or, they could face losing out on him to a team like the Angels or the Padres.
“The question is, if the Yankees truly want Gerrit Cole, they can give him 10 years and $400 million dollars, they can do that,” Teixeira explained. “The question is, what are other teams willing to do and the Yankees don’t want to bid against themselves during this process.”
While $400 million over ten years may scare a ton of people away, that type of contract might be what it takes to dissuade Cole from staying on the west coast. With Cole originally from California, his ideal landing spots will likely be with one of two teams in Los Angeles, or with one of the other two teams from California.
“Gerrit Cole, he can write his own check right now,” Teixeira said. “The question is, if the Yankees did something crazy and got to $350 or $400 million dollars, then you almost can’t turn it down, right? I think money being equal, he’s not going to the Yankees. If the Yankees completely blow everyone out of the water, then he’ll end up in pinstripes.”
If Teixeira is right about Cole, then Cashman and the Yankees will need to do something drastic to stand out from the crowd of the many teams that are interested.
Whether that’ll be offering more money or a longer-term than any other team, the Yankees will have to go above and beyond to bring Cole to the Bronx this winter.
