Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees are reportedly “all-in” on free agent horse Gerrit Cole this offseason.
The New York Yankees are “all-in” on free agent pitcher Gerrit Cole.
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network and WFAN, the Yankees are meeting with the rotation horse in Southern California on Tuesday. More interestingly, the organization is basically offering the stud righty a “blank check.”
Yankees meet with top target Gerrit Cole in SoCal today. They are all in. But having been rebuffed after drafting him and offering basically a blank check (he went to UCLA instead), they are very concerned he may prefer Angels and Dodgers. NYY will meet w/Strasburg tomorrow.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 3, 2019
“Yankees meet with top target Gerrit Cole in SoCal today. They are all in. But having been rebuffed after drafting him and offering basically a blank check (he went to UCLA instead), they are very concerned he may prefer Angels and Dodgers. NYY will meet w/Strasburg tomorrow.”
On Monday, it was reported the Bombers had meetings scheduled with both Cole and 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg this week. Apparently, Cole’s meeting happened quickly, coming a day later.
Cole, 29, was originally drafted by the Yankees back in 2008. Due to the two sides never agreeing on a deal, the young starter got away from the 27-time champs.
By the pennant-stretch run of 2019, Cole had established himself as, arguably, the best pitcher in baseball (this side of Jacob deGrom). Over 33 starts, the former Pittsburgh Pirates ace won 20 games while capturing the AL Pitching Title (2.50 ERA). He also struck out an incredible 326 batters in 212.1 innings pitched.
With Cole leading the charge, the Houston Astros defeated the Yankees in six games in the ALCS, eventually falling one win shy of a World Series title.
Now, Gerrit Cole is the big fish in a pretty robust free-agent pitching market.
