Former Houston Astros Ace Opts Out of Current Deal with AL Champs
That doesn’t mean that one of the former stalwarts of the Houston Astros pitching staff is hitting the open market just yet.
Just a couple of days after a bitter disappointment on baseball’s biggest stage, a former Houston Astros ace is laying the groundwork to hit free agency again.
Gerrit Cole, who pitched for the Astros for two seasons, opted out of his deal with the American League champion New York Yankees on Saturday.
ESPN reported that the Yankees still have a chance to keep him. New York can void the opt-out by adding one year and $36 million to the four years and $144 million that Cole had remaining on his deal.
New York might well exercise its right to keep the 34-year-old.
He went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 2024 as he missed basically the first half of the season with an elbow issue. Even with that, he helped the Yankees reach the World Series for the first time since 2009, but they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
Cole figured prominently in that Game 5 loss as he failed to cover first base on a Mookie Betts ground ball, part of what contributed to a five-run fifth inning for the Dodgers.
He’s been terrific in his five seasons in New York. The right-hander is 59-28 with the Yankees, as he has a 3.12 ERA during that time. He has struck out 985 and walked 185 in that span.
In each of the last four seasons with New York he finished in the Top 10 in Cy Young voting. He finally won the award in 2023 after he went 15-4 with an AL-leading 2.63 ERA with 222 strikeouts and 48 walks.
