General manager of the New York Yankees Brian Cashman wasn’t messing around when he said they are going to heavily pursue Gerrit Cole. The Yankees offered Cole a 7-year, $245 million dollar deal. This is a strong opening offer for Cole even though it’ll probably change.
Even though the Yankees are heavy favorites to land Cole, Cashman wants to make sure that they are the ones that succeed. “Everyone is focused on Gerrit Cole and Strasburg,” Cashman said. “I understand that. But we’re having dialogues separate to that.”
Once Hal Steinbrenner gave Cashman and the front office the go on going after the big guys, Cashman isn’t messing around and he’s doing just that. This offered deal is a record-setting as $35 million per year surpasses Zack Greinke’s $34.4 million per year.
Cashman has said that he understands how important money is. “…financial components are a factor in every decision we make. It’s always part of the process,” Cashman said.
Other teams that have expressed interest in Cole are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Anaheim Angels. It’s going to come down to where Cole wants to play. Each team is going to have what he wants financially, but if he wants to win and chase a ring he’ll pick either the Yankees or the Dodgers. If winning isn’t apart of what he wants, I could see him picking his hometown in California and going with one of the west coast teams.
I could see these offers running up close to $300 million dollars. There have been rumors that the Angels and Dodgers are even considering giving Cole eight to ten years on the contract. The New York Yankees have historically never signed a pitcher to a deal longer than seven years so I can’t see them going past eight years.