Gerrit Cole will stay with the Yankees on the remainder of his original contract

SAN ANTONIO — Gerrit Cole opted out and, almost as quickly, opted back in.

In short, Cole will be a member of the Yankees' rotation through at least the 2028 season, as scheduled.

The righthander, as was his right in the nine-year, $324 million free-agent contract he signed before the 2020 season, opted out of the final four years and $144 million of that deal on Saturday, potentially paving the way for him to again hit the free-agent market.

The Yankees had until 5 p.m. ET on Monday to void the opt-out by tacking on a fifth year worth $36 million. But general manager Brian Cashman, speaking shortly after arriving here for the annual GM meetings, said that additional year wasn’t something “at the moment we were necessarily comfortable doing.”

At that point — though Cashman didn’t put it this way — Cole and his agent, Scott Boras, blinked and opted back into the remaining four years and $144 million.

“We wanted our player and our ace back, and he certainly didn’t want to go,” said Cashman, who also said “Gerrit’s been family” and characterized having the pitcher back as “a huge chess piece to retain.”

There were reports that the two sides were actively talking extension, though Cashman said there are no ongoing “conversations” to that end.

Which makes sense.

With Cole now guaranteed to be a Yankee through his age 37 season (his birthday is Sept. 8), there’s zero motivation for the organization to talk extension.

As for Cole, there was some risk in reentering the free-agent market.

Though he has been one of the most durable and successful pitchers of his generation, Cole did start this season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation, which kept him from a big-league mound until June 19. Had Cole, who went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts, chosen to become a free agent, he would have been going into a market already flush with high-end pitching talent, a pool that includes Max Fried, Corbin Burnes, Jack Flaherty, Blake Snell, Yusei Kikuchi and Walker Buehler.

In short, as good as Cole has been, there was no assurance that in that marketplace, he would have bettered what he has left on his deal.

There also is this: As Cashman alluded, Cole really had no desire to go elsewhere.

He grew up a Yankees fan, and signing the kind of contract he did with this franchise was the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

Additionally, from Day One in uniform, Cole embraced the spotlight and pressure that comes with his status as ace of the Yankees.

And, for the most part, he has produced like one.

Cole, who won the 2023 American League Cy Young Award, is 153-80 with a 3.18 ERA in his 12 years in the big leagues, including 59-28 with a 3.12 ERA in his five seasons with the Yankees. He is 11-6 with a 2.77 ERA in 22 career postseason starts, including 5-2, 2.93 with the Yankees.

In his time with the Yankees, Cole also has embraced his role as a de facto oracle of pitching for the staff, with veterans and rookies — and just about everyone in between who throw baseballs for a living — making frequent stops at or near his locker in spring training to talk about, as Cole always puts it, “the craft” of pitching.

Cole was dubbed the team’s “co-pitching coach” by many in the organization, including in the clubhouse, pretty much from his first season in pinstripes, and that isn’t an accident. (Those who call him that mean no disrespect  toward Matt Blake, the man with the actual title of pitching coach.)

“You want the best product on the field and [should] share what you’ve learned with teammates,” Cole has said.

With Cole's contract out of the way, all of the attention (not that much had neen diverted  anyway) switches to the topic of the offseason: the free agency of Juan Soto.

The  crown jewel of Boras’ stable of superstars won’t sign during these meetings. But groundwork for what is expected to be a package in the range of $500 million to $600 million — and maybe more than the latter number — could be laid as Boras begins meeting in person with interested parties.

The Yankees will be in that mix, though with the process not truly having started, it is not yet clear how high they will be willing to go. And there is the thought, both from some inside and outside the organization, that the money it would take to re-sign Soto might be better spent spread out elsewhere. The Yankees have needs in the bullpen, the infield and perhaps the outfield.

Soto, not surprisingly, was the only one of the club’s free agents to receive the $21.05 million qualifying offer. That means if he signs elsewhere, the Yankees will receive draft pick compensation.