The Yankees haven’t handed out a nine-figure contract since they gave Masahiro Tanaka $155 million reasons to come to New York in 2014.
However, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Yankee ownership has given general manager Brian Cashman the green light to offer free agent Gerrit Cole a record-setting deal.
As of right now, the highest-paid starting pitcher in the history of baseball is David Price — who went to Boston on a seven-year, $217 million contract back in 2016.
Following the recent signings of Zack Wheeler to the Phillies for five-years, $118 million — and veteran left-hander Cole Hamels to the Braves on a one-year, $18M deal, the market for starting pitchers is a beginning to skew dangerously out of control.