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Yankees: Five free agents they should pursue this offseason

By Mac Josephson

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 27: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros delivers the pitch against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning in Game Five of the 2019 World Series at Nationals Park on October 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 27: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros delivers the pitch against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning in Game Five of the 2019 World Series at Nationals Park on October 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 27: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros delivers the pitch against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning in Game Five of the 2019 World Series at Nationals Park on October 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

1. Gerrit Cole

The top prize on the free-agent market the Yankees and pretty much every other team in baseball would love to sign this offseason is Gerrit Cole. The right-hander will be the most sought after free agent starter in recent history and should break records with his next contract. The Yankees are considered one of the favorites to land Cole this winter, but that’s only if they’re willing to empty the bank and pay him whatever he wants.

The 2019 season was a historic campaign for the 29-year-old Cole and couldn’t have come at a better time in his walk year. In 33 starts he went 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA, a 0.895 WHIP and a major league-leading 326 K’s in 212.1 IP. He finished the season with an incredible K per 9 rate of 13.8 and had the most strikeouts by a starter in a season since Randy Johnson struck out 334 back in 2002.

His last loss of the regular season came all the way back on May 22nd against the White Sox and after All-Star break he posted a 1.79 ERA with 156 K’s in just 96.1 IP. In the postseason he further cemented his status as the best pitcher in the game by going 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA with 47 K’s in 36.2 IP.

The Yankees have been very hesitant to hand out mega deals to free agents over the past six years but this offseason there’s really no excuse for them to not go all in Cole. He’s as dominant of an ace as we’ve seen in quite some time and if they could add him to their starting rotation it would make them instant World Series favorites.

Cole was drafted out of high school by the Yankees back in 2008 with the 28th pick in the 1st round but opted to go to UCLA instead of signing with the team he grew up rooting for as a child. In 2017 the Yanks tried to acquire him from the Pirates but were unwilling to include Miguel Andujar in a package that also reportedly had Clint Frazier in it. This offseason landing Cole won’t cost them anything but money.

Related Story. CC Sabathia is already recruiting Gerrit Cole to the Yankees. light

Many believe the Angels are the leaders to sign Cole because of his hometown roots in Orange County, California, but if the Yankees pay up they should have just as good of a shot at getting him. New York is in a much better position to win now than LA and after Cole came up just a win shy of winning the World Series he’s probably hungrier than ever to win a title in 2020. Coming to the Bronx would give him the best chance to do so.

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