The New York Yankees entered the offseason with the goal of signing either Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg. However, those two options have now gotten cut down to just one as Strasburg has been resigned by the Washington Nationals.
Strasburg, 31, resigns with his day one, the team that drafted him 1st overall in 2009. He was dominant in 2019 and led the team to a championship, also winning the World Series MVP. He was 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA in the regular season.
The Nationals deal with Strasburg will be for seven years and $245 million.
Focus Is Solely Cole
With Strasburg now off the free agent market, the Yankees are now shifting their focus to solely Gerrit Cole. With high interest and now Strasburg signed, it appears that offers for Cole will be closer to eight or nine years for around $300 or more. They were originally expected to be about the same as Strasburg’s deal.
There were rumors about a potential offer that the Yankees submitted yesterday, but It was found that the Yankees didn’t submit it. The plan is for them to submit their first and likely only offer to Cole on Monday night. The growing expectation is that Cole will sign with a team by the end of the week.
The Yankees need to give Cole an offer that he can’t pass up. He was born and raised a Yankee fan, and was drafted by the team in 2008 before returning to school.
But, that likely won’t matter as he will probably take the highest offer outright. It’s expected that the Angels and the Dodgers will each give him highly competitive offers.
The Yankees need to lock in on getting this deal done with Cole as soon as possible before another team can submit a higher offer.