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The Dodgers have again hit their stride here in 2024, with 11 wins in 15 games, and right in time for the stretch run to the MLB playoffs. L.A. fans have seen enough in recent years to bring only the most cautious of optimism into any playoff scenario, but there’s little doubt that this team is constructed to win now, and has a championship window that figures to remain cracked open for a few years yet.
But if there is anything the past five months has taught us, it’s that no team, no matter how well constructed, can ever have quite enough pitching. So whenever the focus turns from 2024 to 2025, expect the Dodgers to be thinking long and hard about how to arrange their group of starting pitchers.
The team does not have all that many firm commitments on the mound beyond this year. Thus, if they wanted to make a free-agent splash, they could consider a surprise pursuit of one of the top names that will be on the market: Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, the 2022 A.L. Cy Young Award winner.
Dodgers Could Seek Starting Pitching This Offseason
That’s the notion from Bleacher Report, where analyst Kerry Miller looked at potential outcomes of a Cole free agency in an article titled, “Landing Spots for Gerrit Cole amid Opt-Out Rumors of Yankees Contract.”
Miller cites the Dodgers as No. 4 on the list of potential Cole destinations. Indeed, the Dodgers could have room for Cole, given that their only firm commitments in the 2025 rotation are Tyler Glasnow and rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They’re certain to bring back Gavin Stone, and there’s some indication that Shohei Ohtani might want to return to the mound.
The Dodgers also could give Clayton Kershaw and Bobby Miller another shot to win a job. Signing Cole, then, would not seem to be a priority, except that the Dodgers really need some proven playoff performers. As Miller wrote:
“Cole is a bona fide October ace with a 2.93 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 17 career postseason starts. And if the pitching lets them down again this fall, the Dodgers just might spare no expense in an effort to ensure that doesn’t happen again in 2025. …
“If they do sign Cole, there’s a painful pinch point looming in 2027, when they’re already on the hook for nearly $120 million just between Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Glasnow and Yamamoto. That’s tomorrow’s problem, though.”
Gerrit Cole’s Contract Allows Yankees an Option to Keep Him
There is a bigger issue with potentially signing Cole, whether for the Dodgers or anyone else. That’s because of an odd quirk in his contract that allows him to back out of his nine-year, $324 million deal after this season—unless the Yankees take some swift action.
Cole can opt out of the final four years of the contract this winter, which is why there is any level of speculation about his free agency. But the Yankees can negate Cole’s option by adding another year and $36 million to the contract, which would stretch it to a $360 million contract over 10 years.
The consensus is that the Yankees will do that. Cole has been a reliable starter for his entire career, which included stops in Pittsburgh and Houston before he signed with the Yankees in 2020. He is 151-78 12 MLB seasons, with a 3.18 ERA, and has twice led the league in strikeouts.
He suffered an elbow injury early this season, and turns 34 this week, raising some concerns about his future. But Cole is 6-3, with a 3.58 ERA this year.
The one wrench in that could open a path toward a Cole free agency would be Juan Soto, the Yankees outfielder who could set a record in free agency this offseason. If a bidding war for Soto drove the Yankees payroll too high, perhaps the team would let Cole walk.
It’s a longshot. But it’s worth monitoring for the Dodgers.
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