ESPN | Jeff Passan: In case you missed it, Gerrit Cole opted out of his contract with the Yankees. Cole was set to make $144 million over the next four years. The Yankees can void the opt out by tacking on a fifth year at the same $36 million salary. The ball is now in the Yankees’ court, and they have only until tonight to decide.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: As we gain more distance from the Yankees’ crushing Game 5 loss to end the World Series, we’ll start to try to put the 2024 season in perspective. Hoch does so here, reflecting on what we learned from the 2024 campaign. He highlights the obvious success of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto anchoring the AL’s best offense and the shocking rise of Luke Weaver as a couple of the most positive developments, while defense and baserunning miscues, as well as holes at the bottom of the lineup, lead the areas that need to be addressed.
MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: In another piece of expected business, the Yankees declined their $17 million team option on Anthony Rizzo. The first baseman will instead receive a $6 million buyout. This likely concludes Rizzo’s tenure in the Bronx, which began when the Yankees traded for him in the middle of the 2021 season. For a time, Rizzo was everything the Yankees hoped he’d be, posting a 131 wRC+ as a Yankee before suffering a concussion in May of 2023. He’s been a shell of himself then, posting a .637 OPS in 2024 while also missing time with multiple injuries.
New York Post | Mark W. Sanchez: Juan Soto’s free agency will dominate the headlines, with good reason. Less speculated about has been how the Yankees’ bullpen corps could be affected by free agency. Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, and Tim Hill are all free agents, with the three players combining to provide almost exactly half of the Yankees’ relief innings in the playoffs. Hill emerged as Aaron Boone’s key lefty relief arm, while Kahnle solidified himself by the end of the year as the team’s most trusted option this side of Luke Weaver. The Yankees have proven themselves adept at constructing top bullpens from scratch, but they’ll be tested again if all three of these arms get away.
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