Yankees, Gerrit Cole agree to record 9-year, $324M deal

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Prized free-agent pitcher Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees have agreed to a record nine-year, $324 million contract, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The deal includes an opt-out clause after five years, sources told Passan. It surpasses the deal Stephen Strasburg finalized with the Washington Nationals on Monday for most total money and annual average salary for a pitcher, at $36 million.

Cole, the runner-up to teammate Justin Verlander in the AL Cy Young Award, was dominant during the regular season and the postseason, as the Houston Astros led the majors with 111 total wins.

The 29-year-old, hard-throwing right-hander set an Astros record by winning his last 16 regular-season decisions and topped the AL with a career-best 2.50 ERA. His career-high 326 strikeouts were the most in the majors and broke an Astros franchise record that had stood since 1979, when J.R. Richard fanned 313.

Read More: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28271369/sources-yankees-gerrit-cole-agree-record-9-year-324m-deal