Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jordan Shusterman and senior MLB analyst Jake Mintz talk about Gerrit Cole’s decision to opt out of the final 4 years of his contract, but say that the Yankees will likely void his opt out and he will remain a Yankee. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

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Video Transcript

Garrett Cole signed a massive contract with the New York Yankees after the 2019 season.

And then COVID happened and then COVID happened in that contract.

Garrett Cole was able to opt out of the final four years and $144 million remaining on the deal, which he did.

However, normally players, they opt out, ok. Boom, they're free agents.

In this case, the Yankees have the opportunity to just add on another year at $36 million and thus void his opt out.

So what that means is basically the Yankees deciding instead of letting Garrett Cole walk, they can just have him for 5180 instead of 4144.

Now, at the time, we are recording this on Monday morning, we have not gotten official confirmation that the New York Yankees will be making the decision to keep Derrick Cole for five more years at 100 and $80 million.

However, that is the vast assumption as to that happening.

So really the only thing to say about this is this is just strictly business that obviously Gerrit Cole was going to do this knowing that they were going to pick it up.

Now, you could point out as some people have is Gerrit Cole with his, the season, he just had, you know, would you be giving him five years 100 and 80?

I think we probably would.

But there, you could at least be like, ok, it's, there's at least some amount of risk there for sure.

But I think we understand that this is going to be resolved pretty comfortably and he will remain a Yankee.

The whole point of the way this contract was set up is to ensure that one of the two sides would be incentivized to keep Garrett Cole in Pinstripes for the entirety of the contract.

Now, he had a year in which it got really close to that perfect midpoint where he might opt in the Yankees might not pick it up.

Still was I surprised that he opted a little bit.

I think if his season is like 5% worse, he might not opt if his injury lasted another month or he was not as good once he got back, maybe he doesn't opt because he doesn't want to risk it.

But I think the Yankees are gonna pick this up.

It's just a very funny headline.

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