Yankees: Gerrit Cole could command over $300M after Stephen Strasburg signs record breaking deal

The first big move of the Winter Meetings happened Monday afternoon when the Washington Nationals re-signed Stephen Strasburg to a seven-year, $245M contract. How will this affect the Yankees pursuit of top free-agent ace Gerrit Cole?

It was no surprise to see Strasburg return to Washington, even though the Yankees met with him last week. However, it was a bit of shocker to see him get a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $35M. That makes him the highest-paid pitcher in major league history although it’s a record that will likely be short-lived once Gerrit Cole makes his free-agent decision.

Cole was always going to sign a bigger contract than Strasburg this offseason, but now it looks like his record-breaking deal could earn him more than $300M according to multiple reports. Cole is two years younger than Strasburg and has never had any health issues, unlike last year’s World Series MVP. He’s also put together better overall numbers than Strasburg has over the past two seasons and he still might be getting better so he deserves the bigger deal.

Now that Strasburg is off the table Cole is reportedly more likely to sign before the Winter Meetings end and according to Jack Curry of the YES Network Yankees GM Brian Cashman was expected to make an offer to Cole on Monday. If the Yanks are going to sign him that offer is probably going to exceed $300M and it might have to be for nine years.

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Right now it looks the Yankees biggest competitor to sign Cole are the LA Angels, but the Dodgers could be in the mix as well. The Angels haven’t been hesitant to hand out contracts for more than eight years in the past and I don’t see them stopping this offseason with Cole. The question now is whether or not they’ll offer him a ten-year deal and if they do would the Yankees match it?

If the offers are equal many believe the Yankees will sign Cole because they’re in a better position to win consistently and he wants to build his legacy as one of the top starting pitchers of his era. There’s no better place for him to do so than New York, but if the Angels offer him more none of that may matter. At the end of the day, he’s probably going to sign with the team that offers him the best deal.

I think Cashman and company know that which is why I have a hard time seeing them fall short in their pursuit. It’s been a while since the Yankees have wanted a top free agent as much as they want Cole and usually, when that happens they aren’t denied and they get their guy.