Hal Steinbrenner's comments on Gerrit Cole contract make no sense to Yankees fans

Just a few weeks ago, the New York Yankees had the chance to either extend Gerrit Cole (and re-work his deal) or simply tack on one extra year for $36 million after the star right-hander exercised his opt out clause.

Instead? There was a stare-down until the last possible moment. The deadline to respond to Cole's decision came and went. And ... there was no news. Fans later learned that Cole would essentially be opting back into his deal with no changes. It would remain at four years and $144 million (though that could still change).

In the end, the Yankees were reportedly hesitant to give Cole that extra $36 million for his age-38 season. Cole didn't want to leave either, so everybody just pretended like nothing happened. Meanwhile, fans were fretting about the future of the roster and payroll ... all for nothing.

Then, on Thursday, Hal Steinbrenner addressed the media about a number of topics, of which the Juan Soto meeting grabbed all the headlines. Fans might have missed what the Yankees owner said about Cole, though, and it's sure to confuse everybody even further.

Steinbrenner said he wants Cole to be a "Yankee for life" and that Cole wants the same. And we're supposed to believe that the Yankees putting him in a tough position didn't change the dynamic whatsoever?

Hal Steinbrenner's comments on Gerrit Cole contract make no sense for Yankees

Maybe it didn't, because Cole came back instead of testing free agency. But how about the optics? Even if the reality behind closed doors is all fine and well, what about the confused Yankees fans and critical rival fans? If the Yankees were hell bent on making Cole a Yankee for life, they either would have given him that extra year as a show of faith or would've worked judiciously to restructure his contract instead of leaving him in no man's land.

The fact of the matter is that Scott Boras negotiated that opt-out clause in Cole's historic contract, and the Yankees agreed to it. Regardless if Cole's coming off an elbow injury (or whether aging concerns truly existed), the Yankees' actions did not suggest they wanted their star pitcher to remain with the team for as long as possible. They might have been right to ultimately say "we are not adding millions upon the already historic millions we've already given you," but the silence that's ensued hasn't helped the organization's cause.

Yes, there exists the Juan Soto domino, which will greatly influence future spending, but that shouldn't necessarily matter when it comes to Cole, whose money is already baked into the team's payroll for the foreseeable future. Tacking on $36 million come 2029 does not affect a Soto contract. Re-working Cole's deal at a more favorable price to extend him further into the future doesn't, either.

Perhaps they verbally agreed to a solution. Perhaps Steinbrenner was truthful in what he said and it was expressed to Cole in an even more meaningful way. But the early takeaway is that the actions don't line up with the words, and that's a theme fans are sick of enduring with this franchise over the last 15 years.