The New York Yankees will have many difficult decisions to make when the 2024 Major League Baseball season comes to an end.
New York has a solid chance to win the World Series this season and hopefully, it is able to do so before it has to take a hard look at the roster. The Yankees likely won’t look exactly the same and the biggest question mark swirling around the club is the future of star slugger Juan Soto.
Soto has been an amazing addition to the Yankees and they wouldn’t be in the position they are in right now if they didn’t acquire him. There will be other decisions to make, though.
Superstar pitcher Gerrit Cole has an early termination option in his contract and can opt-out if he wants. New York can also prevent this by adding another year on the back-end of Cole’s deal. It’s a complicated deal, but the New York Post’s Jon Heyman doesn’t think he is going anywhere.
“The starting pitching market isn’t terrible,” Heyman said. “Aces Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and presumably Blake Snell are at the top, assuming Snell opts out of his deal, too, and Gerrit Cole remains a Yankee either by opting in or by the Yankees adding a year as allowed in his unusual contract. Other impactful starters who may also hit free agency include Nate Eovaldi, Jack Flaherty, Yusei Kikuchi, Nick Pivetta, and the Mets’ own Luis Severino. It’s a decent list, sure. But about 29 out of 30 teams will be seeking rotation help, so the demand will again easily outstrip the supply.”
It would be devastating if Cole were to leave but it doesn’t sound like Yankees fans will have to worry about that.
