"Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and it drops off" - Ex-Mets catcher urges Yankees to lock in Gerrit Cole amid scarcity of aces in free agency
Following the New York Yankees' World Series defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this week, ace Gerrit Cole reportedly opted out of his contract on Saturday.
Cole signed a franchise record nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees in 2019 but exercised the opt-out clause with four years and $144 remaining on the deal. The one-time Cy Young winner will become an unrestricted free agent but the Yankees can void the opt-out by offering Cole a $36 million extension to his original contract.
According to reports, the Yankees need to make that offer by Sunday evening, or Cole and his agent Scott Boras part ways with the franchise to test free agency.
Former New York Mets catcher Anthony Recker reflected on the news on MLB Network and weighed in on why the Yankees need to offer the extension to Cole that would guarantee him $180 million for five years:
"They have to pick that fifth-year option (one-year extension). There are only probably two or three pitchers at the top of the market this year, Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and then it really drops off from there."
Anthony Recker praises Gerrit Cole's character despite World Series collapse
Gerrit Cole didn't have the best start to the 2024 season, coming off his maiden Cy Young winning campaign in 2023, as he missed a considerable chunk of the season due to injury issues.
And even though Cole was at the heart of the disastrous fifth inning in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday, Anthony Recker believed the All-Star pitcher's experience was too much to ignore:
"He has done it for New York in the biggest games. I know that the fifth inning fell apart and he was a part of that by not covering first base but he pitched phenomenally. He has shown you the character to earn that big contract."
Tying up Gerrit Cole to an extension will be the first goal for the Yankees in the offseason as the Bronx Bombers also have a monumental task of handling All-Star slugger Juan Soto's free agency. Soto is expected to command a contract of more than $500 million after his heroics in his first year.