Reported Gerrit Cole Offers From Angels and Dodgers Revealed
By Jerry Trotta
When all was said and done, Gerrit Cole elected to not go home and instead agreed to a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees.
The Angels and Dodgers were considered the other genuine players in the Cole sweepstakes, but it's now become evident that their offers weren't nearly up to par with the New York's.
Per Jorge Castillo of the "Los Angeles Times," the Dodgers extended an eight-year $300 million contract whereas the Angels offered an eight-year deal slightly under the $300 million threshold.
The Dodgers' offer for Gerrit Cole was eight years for $300 million, per sources. It included deferrals.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) December 11, 2019
The Angels' offer was south of $300 million over eight years with deferrals.
Though both of those offers would have broken records for the richest pitcher contract in MLB history if they were signed, it's quite apparent the additional ninth year proved imperative for the Yanks landing Cole.
Scott Boras, as he does with almost all of his clients, didn't settle, and Brian Cashman and Co. were willing to go that extra mile.
The Dodgers felt good about their chances to land Gerrit Cole and thought they might get him right up until the time he chose the Yankees. They don't think the money was enough of a difference to lose out on him; they think in the end he simply wanted to be a Yankee.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) December 11, 2019
If this doesn't indicate that the Yanks are making their long-awaited return as baseball's Evil Empire, we don't know what will. The Dodgers and Angels made their offers, and the Bronx Bombers went over the top to put this thing to rest.