Gerrit Cole to sign record $324M deal with Yankees: Sources

KTRK logo
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Bidding war starts for Gerrit Cole
Yankees fire first salvo in bidding war for former Astros starter Gerrit Cole.

Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees have agreed to a record nine-year, $324 million contract, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Cole, the most coveted free agent in baseball this offseason, spent the last two seasons with the Houston Astros.

In a contract year, he pitched his way to a stellar 2019, in which he went 20-5 and pitched 326 strikeouts.

PREVIOUS STORY: Gerrit Cole sweepstakes: Yankees reportedly offer $245M contract

Despite finishing second to former teammate Justin Verlander in this past season's AL Cy Young Award race, Cole's season was a loud enough statement to command a record-setting contract heading into 2020.

ESPN also reported other teams were in a bidding war to sign the 29-year-old Cole, including the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers.

ESPN contributed to this report.

The video above is from a previous story.