Gerrit Cole Free Agency: The Yankees star is reportedly opting out of his contract, but New York can still keep him

New York Yankees star Gerrit Cole has opted out of the last four years and has $144 million left on his contract. reports ESPN. The team has not confirmed the option decision. Option decisions are due next Monday at the latest.

Even though Cole opted out of his contract, the Yankees have a say in his matter. His contract allows the Yankees to override the opt-out by extending his contract for one year at $36 million. That would turn his nine-year, $324 million deal into a 10-year, $360 million deal. It's very likely that the Yankees will extend Cole's contract for the tenth year and keep him.

Still, there is an argument for letting Cole go. He turned 34 in September, his speed and swing-and-miss rate declined this year and he had a few injuries. Cole didn't make his season debut until June 19 after suffering nerve inflammation in his elbow during spring training, and his start was delayed in July by “general body fatigue.”

The Yankees are expected to cut payroll next year and will look to retain her Juan Soto. In a vacuum, letting the 34-year-old star pitcher go so you can keep the 26-year-old superstar hitter is a no-brainer. Then again, this is the Yankees, and it doesn't have to be either/or. They can both keep Cole And Soto.

New York's rotation depth chart without Cole looks something like this:

1. LHP Carlos Rodon
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 plenty of depth, but not a true ace either. Of course, there's no guarantee that Cole will be an ace in the future. He won the Cy Young in 2023, but fell short of the ace's performance in 2024, and he's now at an age where even the best pitchers begin to decline. If the Yankees don't keep Cole, they'll likely look to bring in another starter.

Once healthy again this year, Cole pitched to a 3.41 ERA in 17 regular-season starts, and he was also quite good in the postseason. Cole pitched a no-hitter in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series before New York's defense faltered – Cole didn't cover first base, which would have been the third out – and the game got away from them.

In five seasons with the Yankees, Cole pitched to a 3.12 ERA and averaged 4.8 WAR per 30 starts. He received Cy Young votes every year from 2020 to 2023, 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 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 on closer Luke Weaver.