Cole will remain with the Yankees on the four-year, $144 million contract he had previously opted out of, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Essentially, it's as if Cole didn't even exercise the opt-out clause in his contract. Although, it's expected the two sides will continue to negotiate a contract extension, possibly tacking a year onto the end of the pitcher's current deal. Cole posted a 3.41 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 95 innings this season following a two-month absence due to an elbow injury.
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Yankees' Gerrit Cole: Exercises opt-out
Rotowire
Cole opted out of his contract with the Yankees on Saturday, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.
The Yankees have the opportunity to void Cole's opt-out decision by adding an extra year and $36 million to his contract, which would result in him being owed $180 million through 2029. The 34-year-old posted a 3.41 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 95 innings this season after missing the first couple months due to an elbow injury. There is no guarantee that New York will want to keep him around for such a hefty price.
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Yankees' Gerrit Cole: Undone by sloppy fifth inning
Rotowire
Cole took a no-decision Wednesday versus the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, getting charged with five runs (zero earned) on four hits and four walks over 6.2 innings. He struck out six.
All five unearned runs came in the top of the fifth inning on two singles, a double, a walk and two errors. One of the singles was credited to Mookie Betts on what should have been an inning-ending groundout, but Cole failed to cover first base. The first Dodgers run scored on that play and four more followed before Cole finally escaped the frame. Cole settled back in after that and was in line for the win when he was pulled with one on and two out in the seventh, but the Dodgers tallied a couple runs in the eighth to go ahead for good. In five starts this postseason, Cole held a 2.17 ERA and 22:10 K:BB over 29 frames.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Cole will start Friday in Game 1 of the World Series, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.
The Yankees wrapping up the ALCS in five games allowed them to set up their rotation as they wanted, and that means Cole taking the ball in Game 1. Boone added that Cole will likely be followed by Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil, in that order, although he has not yet etched that into stone. Cole holds a 3.31 ERA and 12:6 K:BB over 16.1 innings in three starts this postseason.
