What a Yankees, Gerrit Cole multi-year contract might look like

The weeks following up to the Winter Meetings is where rumors and false statements are thrown around like a football on Thanksgiving, and it will be no different for the New York Yankees this year, especially while in talks with top free-agent pitcher, Gerrit Cole.

Cole is preparing to reset the money-market for pitchers in free agency, and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has given GM Brian Cashman the green-light to unload a prodigious amount of money for Cole, who evaded the team in 2008 and again in 2017.

Third time is a charm, they say, and the Bombers aren’t going to let him slip through their grasp again. Having been a decade without making it to the World Series, Steinbrenner has officially had enough of being good enough to get there and failing in the final moments.

With a talented team consisting of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, Gio Urshela, and plenty more gifted players, now is the time to invest heavily in deficiencies.

How much will the Yankees unload for Gerrit Cole?

Cashman has a blank check and Scott Boras’ ego in the way. A realistic contract will include a minimum of six years due to the nature of Cole’s exclusive talents and how much other teams are willing to pay for his services. The Yankees brought in legend Andy Pettite and new pitching coach Matt Blake to express the Yankee way to Cole, which includes a futuristic pitching model that the free agent appreciated.

Cole is the type of player that enjoys soaking up knowledge and further developing his game with analytics and innovation. This was a significant reason the Yankees hired Blake to fill the position Larry Rothschild had held for so many years. They needed a brand re-fresh from old to new.

This factor alone was extremely enticing for Cole, and it swung the probability of him signing with the Yankees significantly. However, the blank check still needs to be filled, and seven-years, $250 million makes the most sense.

This would make Gerrit the highest-paid pitcher in baseball at over $35 million per season and guarantee him a place on a competitive team for multiple years. A win-win for both sides.