Gerrit Cole free agency: Yankees’ ace reportedly opts out of contract, but New York can still keep him

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has opted out of the final four years and $144 million remaining on his contract, reports ESPN. The team has not confirmed the option decision. Option decisions are due no later than this coming Monday.

Although Cole opted out of his contract, the Yankees do have a say in his matter. His contract allows the Yankees to void the opt out by adding one year at $36 million to his deal. That would turn his nine-year, $324 million contract into a 10-year, $360 million contract. It seems very likely the Yankees will add the tenth year to Cole’s contract and retain him.

That said, there is an argument for letting Cole leave. He turned 34 in September, his velocity and swing-and-miss rates declined this year, and he had a few injuries popped up. Cole did not make his season debut until June 19 after going down with nerve inflammation in his elbow in spring training, and he had a start pushed back by “general body fatigue” in July.

The Yankees are expected to reduce payroll next year and they will make an effort to retain Juan Soto. In a vacuum, letting the 34-year-old ace pitcher leave so you can keep the 26-year-old superstar hitter is a no-brainer. Then again, these are the Yankees, and it needn’t be an either/or. They can keep both Cole and Soto.

New York’s rotation depth chart without Cole looks something like this:

1. LHP Carlos Rodón
2. RHP Luis Gil
3. LHP Nestor Cortes
4. RHP Clarke Schmidt
5. RHP Marcus Stroman
6. RHP Cody Poteet
7. RHP Will Warren

Five solid starters and OK enough depth, but also no true ace. Of course, there’s no guarantee Cole will be an ace moving forward. He won the Cy Young in 2023 but was short of ace-like in 2024, and he’s at the age now where even the best pitchers begin to decline. If the Yankees don’t retain Cole, they’ll likely look to bring in another starter.

Once healthy this year, Cole pitched to a 3.41 ERA in 17 regular season starts, and he pitched quite well in the postseason too. Cole took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of World Series Game 5 before New York’s defense unraveled — Cole didn’t cover first base on what would have been the third out — and the game got away from them.

In five seasons with the Yankees, Cole has pitched to a 3.12 ERA and averaged 4.8 WAR per 30 starts. He received Cy Young votes every year from 2020-23, including finishing second in the voting in 2021 and winning the award in 2023. Cole is a six-time All-Star, including three times with the Yankees.

In other news, the Yankees announced they have declined Anthony Rizzo’s $17 million club option, and will pay him a $6 million buyout. They picked up their $2.5 million club option for closer Luke Weaver.