Astros fans will be livid after learning of Yankees-Gerrit Cole contract resolution

Gerrit Cole left the Houston Astros following the 2019 season for the bright lights and big stage of New York City. Cole inked a nine-year, $324 million deal with the New York Yankees prior to the 2020 season and has been that team's ace ever since.

That's a large sum of cash for a player who doesn't understand the the basic fundamentals of the game — like sprinting to first base when there's a ground ball to the right side of the infield. But nonetheless, that's what the Yankees were willing to fork out in order to have Cole be their frontline starter.

But Cole's contract contained an interesting quirk. The right-hander had the ability to opt out of his contract after the 2024 season — which he did. However, New York could then effectively void the opt-out if they extended Cole's deal through 2029 for an additional $36 million. But they did not do that.

Astros fans will be livid after learning of Yankees-Gerrit Cole contract resolution

Instead, the Yankees and Cole worked out a new deal. Or, as MLB insider Jon Heyman so lovingly reported on Monday, Cole and Yankees have agreed to stay together. Isn't that sweet?

But it gets better. You would think that there'd be some kind of extra money involved, or an additional opt-out, player-option, or something, right? Nope, none whatsoever. Instead the Yankees and Cole agreed to stick with the original four years and $144 million remaining on his deal. So basically, it's as if Cole never opted out of his deal.

According to Brian Cashman (yes, the Yankees' crybaby general manager who was whining about the Astros postseason dominance over the past eight seasons), club decision-makers “weren’t necessarily comfortable” adding a year and $36 million to the deal.

This whole ordeal is just ridiculous and speaks to the clumsy nature of the Yankees' front office. Cole's willingness to stay put in New York without testing the open market is a courtesy he never offered the Astros back during the 2019-20 offseason.

For the first time in his career, Cole failed to eclipse 100 innings in a season, and at 34 years old, one can hardly blame the Yankees' reluctance to add another year onto the current deal. New York's sole focus will now shift toward retaining Juan Soto, but unlike Cole, the Yankees' slugger won't be keeping his negotiations narrowed to just one team.

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