Record 9-year Cole deal is HUGE GAMBLE for desperate Yankees
Tired of falling short of their goal of winning the World Series, the New York Yankees signed ace pitcher Gerrit Cole to a record-breaking nine-year, $324 million contract Tuesday night.
Cole had been the ace of the Houston Astros pitching staff and he is coming off a brilliant season. The 29-year-old right hander finished the 2019 season with a 20-5 record along with a 2.50 earned-run average while striking out 326 batters in 212.1 innings. Cole pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first five years of his career prior to spending the last two seasons with the Astros.
It’s good to be Gerrit Cole today.The reported details of his contract. pic.twitter.com/aAyIQEtVWR
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 11, 2019
The contract Cole signed eclipsed the seven-year, $245 million deal that Stephen Strasburg signed with the Washington Nationals Monday.
While the Yankees have added one of the best pitchers in the game to their roster, they are taking a huge gamble that Cole will be able to match his performance on a year-after-year basis. Cole had a 7-10 record in 2016 with the Pirates before going 12-12 in his final season with that team. He was 15-5 in 2018 with the Astros.
The Yankees have no guarantees that Cole will remain productive throughout the whole of his contract, or even for multiple seasons. While it would seem likely that he should be able to produce at a similar level to what he did in 2019 for at least a couple of years, it would be difficult to sustain that excellence for multiple years.
The injury factor is an issue that could become a problem at any time. The action of throwing 100-plus pitches every five days in the regular season has taken its toll on many of the game’s top pitchers. Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, regularly considered among the elite pitchers in the American and National Leagues, respectively, have both suffered arm injuries in recent seasons.
However, if Cole can stay healthy, the Yankees’ starting rotation of Cole, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, and James Paxton to go along with a power-laden lineup led by Aaron Judge could make the Yankees baseball’s best team.
They appear to have a major edge in the American League East, where their top rivals are trying to shed payroll in the offseason. The Boston Red Sox, who won the 2018 World Series but fell badly in 2019, may trade superstar outfielder Mookie Betts.
The Red Sox appear to be counting on Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi. Sale, Price and Eovaldi all were limited due to arm injuries in 2018.
The Yankees have made a move that has earned them headlines and applause from their fans in the offseason. However, the long-term ramifications of the deal could be disastrous if Cole suffers a major injury or he loses just a shade of his ability in any of the coming seasons.
