Gerrit Cole free agency: Yankees ace stays with team on original four-year, $144 million deal, per reports

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is staying in town. Cole will remain with the Yankees on the original four-year, $144 million deal he had remaining on his contract, despite opting out, reports ESPN.

Cole’s contract was rather messy. Even though he opted out, his contract allows the Yankees to void the opt-out by adding one year at $36 million to his deal. That would turn his nine-year, $324 million contract into a 10-year, $360 million contract. Instead, according to ESPN, the two sides have elected to keep the four-year, $144 million contract. The team and the player will still reportedly continue discussing an extension.

MORE: Other notable MLB contract option decisions

Despite Cole’s success with the Yankees, there was an argument for letting Cole leave. He turned 34 in September, his velocity and swing-and-miss rates declined this year, and he had a few injuries pop up. Cole did not make his season debut until June 19 after going down with nerve inflammation in his elbow in spring training, and he had a start pushed back by “general body fatigue” in July.

The Yankees are expected to reduce payroll next year and they will make an effort to retain Juan Soto. In a vacuum, letting the 34-year-old ace pitcher leave so you can keep the 26-year-old superstar hitter is a no-brainer. Then again, these are the Yankees, and it needn’t be an either/or. They can keep both Cole and Soto.

New York’s rotation depth chart without Cole would have looked something like this:

1. LHP Carlos Rodón
2. RHP Luis Gil
3. LHP Nestor Cortes
4. RHP Clarke Schmidt
5. RHP Marcus Stroman
6. RHP Cody Poteet
7. RHP Will Warren

Five solid starters and OK enough depth, but also no true ace. Of course, there’s no guarantee Cole will be an ace moving forward. He won the Cy Young in 2023 but was short of ace-like in 2024, and he’s at the age now where even the best pitchers begin to decline.

Once healthy this year, Cole pitched to a 3.41 ERA in 17 regular-season starts, and he pitched quite well in the postseason. Cole took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of World Series Game 5 before New York’s defense unraveled — Cole didn’t cover first base on what would have been the third out — and the game got away from them.

In five seasons with the Yankees, Cole has pitched to a 3.12 ERA and averaged 4.8 WAR per 30 starts. He received Cy Young votes every year from 2020-23, including finishing second in the voting in 2021 and winning the award in 2023. Cole is a six-time All-Star, including three times with the Yankees.

In other news, the Yankees announced they have declined Anthony Rizzo’s $17 million club option, and will pay him a $6 million buyout. They picked up their $2.5 million club option for closer Luke Weaver.