The Los Angeles Dodgers could directly benefit from the New York Yankees resigning superstar outfielder Juan Soto this upcoming offseason by going after their alpha dog on the mound.
MLB: New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers Jun 3, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) throws in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Dodgers could capitalize off of Yankees’ financial situation & sign Gerrit Cole for 2025
Chris Landers of FanSided laid out the circumstances that could open the door for the Dodgers to acquire 2023 AL Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole in the offseason (h/t Jackson Roberts of The Sporting News):
“It’s not at all hard to see a team with money to spend and a hole in the rotation convincing Cole that his market value is higher than the $36 million the Yankees are set to pay him next season,” Landers said. “Soto will be the Yankees’ first, second and third priorities this winter, meaning that Cole might be headed elsewhere if he does decide to test the market.”
Further, Roberts went into Cole’s contractual situation for the next four years, saying:
“Cole, 34, has the right to opt out of the last four years and $144 million on his contract. At that point, the Yankees can opt to bring him back if they add a fifth year, making the total value of the deal $180 million,” Roberts wrote.
Cole is an elite pitcher that could remedy the Dodgers’ rotational woes
Cole missed a large portion of the 2024 campaign as he nursed himself back from elbow nerve inflammation. Limited to only 17 starts, the two-time AL ERA leader went a respectable 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA and 99 strikeouts, which would have put him on pace to finish with 192 Ks had he started 33 games like he did the previous two seasons.
Though he still showed that he’s an elite pitcher in the big leagues, the Yankees are all in on Soto, and admittedly, the impact he’s had on the franchise has them primed to come away with a World Series crown this year for the first time in the nine-year Aaron Judge era in New York.
Thus, the Yankees will be inclined to throw a boatload of money at the Dominican superstar slugger to keep him on board and Cole could find himself as the casualty of such a pursuit, no matter how much of a backbone he is to their rotation.
The Yankees still need Cole despite Soto’s impact on the team
While Soto may be priority No. 1 for New York over Cole, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for the Yankees to retain their ace, especially since their rotation has been somewhat volatile throughout the campaign, specifically in the cases of Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman.
The circumstances are in play for the Dodgers to bring Cole on board for 2025
On the other side of the token, the Dodgers, who have $250 million in payroll obligations for 2025, could offer a sizable contract to Cole and have him slide into their No. 1 role ahead of current ace Tyler Glasnow and their star-studded ensemble of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw who are both also on the books for next year.
If the early portion of the 2024 MLB playoffs has shown anything, it’s that the Dodgers have question marks around some of their best arms on the mound. Cole would eliminate all of that with his top-shelf talent and abundance of playoff experience. A swing from coast to coast would likely be contingent on how both teams fare at the end of the postseason. That will paint a much clearer picture as to what their offseason priorities will be.
