MLB Rumors: Los Angeles Angels To ‘Spend Whatever It Takes’ To Sign Gerrit Cole

Before the MLB season even ended there was an industry consensus on the fact that Gerrit Cole would, ideally, like to play on the west coast. New reports are now surfacing that one west coast club is ready to make that a reality at any cost.

SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Los Angeles Angels are ready to "spend whatever it takes" to sign Cole. He also reports that despite this fact, and despite the danger of going above the luxury tax threshold, the New York Yankees are also trying to sign the star free agent.

Cole is coming off of a monster year for the Houston Astros. He collected 20 wins and 326 strikeouts while posting an ERA of 2.50. Those were all good for career bests for the former Pittsburgh Pirate as was his minuscule WHIP of just 0.90.

Cole grew up in southern California. He was born and raised in Newport Beach, attended Orange Lutheran High School and went on to play college ball for UCLA. These west coast ties are believed to be the main driving force behind Cole’s desire to play for a California club.

The Yankees, meanwhile, do have some links with the player. They originally drafted the pitcher out of high school in 2008 but he instead chose college. The Bombers then tried to trade for Cole while he played for Pittsburgh but didn’t offer enough to the Bucs to complete the deal.

According to Martino, “There is a general industry perception that Gerrit Cole prefers the west coast, but the Yankees don’t have any specific information from the agent or player to indicate he would choose California over the Bronx. They’re still in."

“Paired with the industry perception that Cole wants west coast is perception that Angels are ready to go bonkers for him and spend whatever it takes. But again, Yankees in on him as of now.”

As of right now, the largest cumulative salary offered to a pitcher in MLB history went to David Price. He signed a seven-year $217 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in December 2015.

The baseball world is unanimous in its feeling that Gerrit Cole will get significantly more money than that with some speculating he could get a contract worth $300 million.