Right-handed Gerrit Kool is returning to the Yankees, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post on That deal gave Cole the option to opt out after 2024, but the Yankees could negate that opt-out by adding another $36 million season for 2029. Indeed, he activated that opt-out a few days ago, making the Yankees were forced to decide whether or not they wanted to add the extra year. Essentially, they would be deciding between letting Cole become a free agent or keeping him for five years and $180 million. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN on

Through the first four years of the deal, Cole continued to perform at a top level and it seemed like a slam dunk that he would trigger that opt-out, but the Yanks would add the final year and keep him around. That was the general consensus a year ago when Cole won the 2023 American League Cy Young award after posting a 2.63 ERA in 209 innings over 33 starts.

But a year later, a lot has changed, which made the respective decisions more interesting. Cole was sidelined during spring training this year due to elbow inflammation. No structural damage was found, but his non-surgical rehabilitation kept him on the shelf until June. He returned and had strong results, but not as good as before the injury.

He ended up making 17 starts on the year with a 3.41 ERA. There may have been some rust after the injury layoff, as he had a 6.75 ERA in his first four appearances, but a 2.67 in the last 13. He then posted a 2.17 ERA in his five postseason starts.

That injury-shortened season is somewhat debatable when it comes to whether Cole should walk away from the four years and $144 million remaining on his deal, but he was ultimately confident, forcing the Yankees to make a to make a call.

Cole was their ace, but there were at least some arguments for letting him go. Generally speaking, a free agent deal provides the best return on investment early on, while the later years tend to be more painful. Getting the chance to walk away before it starts to hurt will have a certain appeal to a team, especially one looking to return powder dry Juan Soto.

Additionally, Cole’s strikeout rate dropped this year, perhaps due to the injury, but it was the fourth year in a row that trend occurred. He struck out 33.5% of batters in 2021, 32.4% in 2022, just 27% in his Cy Young year and 25.4% this year. According to Statcast, each of his pitches in 2024 was about a mile per hour below the ’23 level. Although his playoff results were good as the Yanks stormed to the World Series, he actually struck out only 17.7% of batters he faced.

Without Cole, the Yankees would have entered the winter with a rotation of Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil And Marcus Stromanof Will Warren and other perspectives around as depth. They could have used the extra $36 million in payroll cap space to pursue Soto, while also considering reuniting with Cole or perhaps going after younger free agent starters like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Jack Flaherty or Max Fried.

It appears the two sides may have discussed some alternative arrangements but wanted more time to work them out, so Cole has essentially agreed to rescind his opt-out decision. He will remain on the Yankee roster under the same terms as his previous deal, perhaps allowing him and the Yankees to work out a new deal without the ticking clock of today’s deadline for options and opt-out decisions.

There’s more to come.