To help shore up their rotation for years to come, the New York Yankees have reportedly signed ace Gerrit Cole to a record $324 million, nine-year contract.
With an average annual salary of $36 million as well as the largest amount of guaranteed cash, the 29-year-old righty is now the highest-paid pitcher in MLB.
Mike Trout’s total contract ($426.5 million over 12-years) is worth more than Cole’s deal, but he actually makes less in average salary per year ($35.5 million) than the Yankees’ new star.
“Obviously, when you are talking about a player at the level of Gerrit Cole, in a lot of ways that’s a game-changing type talent,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the deal was reached. “This is a guy that’s really hungry, really driven.”
Though the terms of the deal have not officially been released, it’s believed Cole’s contract contains a full no-trade clause as well as an opt-out option after five years.
“We wanted him, we made no secret of that,” one high-ranking Yankees executive told USA TODAY Sports. “And usually when we want a guy, we get him.”
The runner-up to teammate Justin Verlander in American League Cy Young Award race, Cole led the AL with a career-best 2.50 ERA.
With Cole now in the Bronx for nearly the next decade, are the Bombers the team to beat in the AL?
USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale believes so.
“Just like that, the Yankees are the team to beat — with a rotation of Cole, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton, a powerful bullpen and a formidable lineup,” he writes. “The Yankees, who haven’t signed a marquee free-agent starter since CC Sabathia in 2008, are back to being the Yankees. They are all in. Just like the ol’ days. See you at the New York ticker-tape parade.”
New York has not won the World Series since 2009.
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