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Blue Jays Reporter Claims Team Offered Gerrit Cole $300 Million

By Alexander Wildes

Offered a similar deal by the Toronto Blue Jays, Gerrit Cole chose to become a New York Yankee.
Offered a similar deal by the Toronto Blue Jays, Gerrit Cole chose to become a New York Yankee. / Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Gerrit Cole was the No. 1 pitcher available in free agency this offseason, with several teams willing to slam hundreds of millions of dollars on the table sign him. In the end, last year's AL ERA champ signed with the New York Yankees -- his favorite team growing up! -- for $324 million dollars over nine years.

The Yankees weren't even the only AL East team pursuing Cole's services for big money, however, as the Toronto Blue Jays offered Cole a whopping $300 million contract to join their squad, per insider Joey Vendetta.

The 29-year-old superstar is coming off a season that saw him go 20-5 and had an ERA of 2.50. However, playing in Toronto's hitter-friendly Rogers Centre for a team that went 67-95 in 2019 simply cannot compare to what the Bronx Bombers can offer: World Series glory in the most famous city in the world.

Joining an 103-win Yankees team with five players capable of hitting 40 home runs and a pack of spectacular relievers, Cole fits right into a team whose only weakness is starting pitching consistency.

While it is a shame that the Blue Jays whiffed on Gerrit Cole, they were able to sign the reigning NL ERA leader, Hyun-Jin Ryu, for a much more team-friendly four years and $80 million. All's well that ends well.