The Yankees are opening up the checkbook for Gerrit Cole.
According to the New York Times' Bob Klapisch, the Yankees' initial offer to Gerrit Cole is a record-setting one: seven years, $245 million has been offered to the free-agent righty.
I'm told #Yankees have a seven-year, $245 million offer on the table for Gerrit Cole. Would be a record-setting contract for a pitcher, surpassing Greinke’s $34.4 million AAV. Question is whether #Dodgers or #Angels will go to 8-9 or even 10 years.
— Bob Klapisch (@BobKlap) December 8, 2019
The deal, which would sit at $35 million per year, would be the highest average annual value for a pitcher in baseball history.
On Friday, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that Cole, 29, wanted initial offers on the table, and that the last three teams involved were the Yankees, the Los Angeles Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
UPDATE: According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, an official offer has yet to be extended to Cole.
I’m told by a source that no official offer has been made by the Yankees to Cole. That doesn’t mean they aren’t prepping the seven-year, $245M offer being reported by @BobKlap, which would be both a record for total $ and AAV for a FA pitcher.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 8, 2019
