Gerrit Cole waived his right to opt out on Monday and will remain in the New York Yankees under a contract that runs through 2028 instead of becoming a free agent.

The New York ace initially exercised his right to terminate the nine-year, $324 million contract, which has $144 million and four years remaining. That decision triggered a two-day window for New York to add a $36 million salary for 2029, which would void the opt-out option.

Given the short period of time following the Yankees’ World Series-ending loss on Wednesday, both sides extended the negotiating period until 5 p.m. EST on Monday, the deadline for option decisions in the collective bargaining agreement. . As the deadline approached, both sides agreed to terminate his rights and agreed on language with Major League Baseball and the players’ association.

“Maybe the grass isn’t always greener,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “I think he’s happy where he is. I think he likes our setup. I think he likes to play for who he plays and who he works for. And I think he likes his teammates. And I think he believes we have a legitimate chance to win.”

Cashman said the conversations included himself, Cole, agent Scott Boras, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine.

“Gerrit and Hal have built a close relationship. and remaining a Yankee was important to both of us,” Boras said in an email to The Associated Press. “Everyone understood that more time was needed to advance the discussions.”

Cashman said that “we hope Cole’s career ends with the Yankees. Whether it’s at the end of this contract or at any time in the future, we can still talk about that. But the most important thing is that the most important first step is that we have to our ace back.” and we are excited about that.”

Cole, a 34-year-old right-hander, won the American League Cy Young Award in 2023. His 2024 season did not begin until June 19 due to nerve irritation and edema in his right elbow. The six-time All-Star went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts, and then went 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA in five postseason starts.

Cashman said Cole did not need any medical procedures and New York hopes he is healthy.

“But how many launchers are there, right?” Cashman said. “I’ll go through the free agent meetings and I’ll look at all the players on the market that are over a certain age and they’ll all have their flaws and some will pitch with them and some won’t be able to pitch with them. them. But it obviously made us feel really good about how he came back.”

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone praises starting pitcher Gerrit Cole for his performance in Game 5 of the World Series.

New York’s decision gives the Yankees six potential rotation returnees, a group that includes Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil, Néstor Cortés and Marcus Stroman.

Additionally, the Yankees made a $21.05 million qualifying offer to outfielder Juan Soto, who will almost certainly reject it, but they made none to second baseman Gleyber Torres. New York would receive no draft pick compensation if Torres signs with another team.

Cashman said New York is not opposed to including deferred compensation in contracts. Yankee deals generally don’t include that.

“We are open to postponements,” he said. “Many times players are less open to making postponements for us than perhaps for other markets. But if we can do things that benefit us, of course we will.”

Cashman spoke to reporters for the first time since the Yankees blew a five-run, fifth-inning lead against the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, when center fielder Aaron Judge and Gold Glove shortstop Anthony Volpe made errors. and Cole doesn’t. cover first base.

“This team obviously wasn’t the best defensive team we’ve had, clearly. And this team had obviously made some mistakes in baserunning as well, but obviously the Game 5 situation involved players who are ultimately really good,” Cashman said. “Aaron Judge catches a lofty billion times “.

“The Dodgers won the World Series and I congratulate them,” he added. “I wish we had given them our best, but we only have a small margin to do so. “We earned the right to get there, but we didn’t play our best baseball while we were there and they sent us home.”

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