NEW YORK — As expected, Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole opted out of his contract on Saturday. The team can nullify this opt-out by extending his contract for an additional year and $36 million, but they must make this decision by Monday at 5 p.m. ET, according to a source cited by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Feinsand confirmed Cole’s decision, though the team has not officially commented. The 34-year-old pitcher still has four years and $144 million left on the contract he signed with the Yankees in December 2019.
If the Yankees decide to void the opt-out, Cole would remain with the team until the end of the 2029 season. If they choose not to, he would enter free agency.
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, Cole’s season start was delayed until June due to nerve irritation and swelling in his pitching elbow. He made 17 regular-season starts, finishing with an 8-5 record and a 3.41 ERA, while striking out 99 batters in 95 innings. Notably, he allowed two runs or fewer in 12 of those starts.
Despite a shortened season, Cole excelled in October, particularly in two World Series starts against the Dodgers, where he surrendered only one earned run and eight hits over 12 2/3 innings. However, his final outing included a mishap where he failed to cover first base on a ground ball, leading to the first of five unearned runs for Los Angeles in a challenging inning.
“I gave it everything I had,” Cole reflected after that game. “I’ll be frustrated, like after any tough loss, but it’s all out there. There’s not much more I could do.”
Cole had previously signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees before the 2020 season, the largest ever given to a free-agent starting pitcher at that time, after a standout 2019 season with the Astros, where he went 20-5 with an AL-best 2.50 ERA.
If the Yankees do not void Cole’s opt-out, they could explore options for free-agent pitchers like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Jack Flaherty. The Yankees had shown interest in Snell before he signed with the Giants and were close to acquiring Flaherty at the Trade Deadline, but he ultimately went from the Tigers to the Dodgers, partly due to concerns about his health.
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