Blue Jays Surprisingly Listed Among Landing Spots For Yankees' Gerrit Cole

Could the Yankees actually lose the superstar ace to Toronto?

Mar 6, 2021; Dunedin, Florida, USA; A detailed view of the Toronto Blue Jays logo on a building at TD Ballpark during the spring training game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports / Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees will have more tough decisions to make rather than just the future of superstar slugger Juan Soto.

Soto will be the top free agent this winter but another tough question the Yankees will have to answer is the future of Gerrit Cole in New York. He can opt out of his current contract this winter, but the Yankees can keep him around by adding a 10th year to his deal worth $36 million for the 2029 season.

It shouldn't be a tough decision for New York. The quick and easy move would be to give Cole the 10th year and keep him around for the foreseeable future. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2023 and still is one of the best pitchers in baseball.

The most likely outcome is that Cole isn't going to go anywhere. If the Yankees do make a surprise decision, though, there surely will be plenty of teams vying for his services. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller compiled a list of possible landing spots and had the American League East rival Toronto Blue Jays at No. 5.

"Toronto might want to sign Gerrit Cole just so it doesn't have to deal with facing him anymore. In 17 starts against the Blue Jays over the past six years, Cole has a 2.54 ERA and a 0.865 WHIP," Miller said. "Could the Blue Jays make it happen while still trying to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette to long-term deals, though? Short answer: Yes.

"Toronto was arguably the No. 2 candidate to land Shohei Ohtani last winter, as well as perhaps the No. 2 candidate to trade for Juan Soto, but it ended up doing a whole lot of nothing and has yet to do any real spending beyond two years from now. Maybe the Blue Jays slightly backload their desired long-term extensions with Guerrero and Bichette in such a way that it's a combined $35 million in 2025, $50 million in 2026, and $65 million for 2027 and beyond once the (Chris Bassitt), (Kevin Gausman), and (George Springer) deals are off the books, but they could make a Cole-sized splash work for them."

If the Yankees somehow lose Cole to Toronto, that would be extremely disappointing.

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