Gerrit Cole, Scott Boras ready to play `Can you top this?'

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Gerrit Cole and agent Scott Boras are ready for baseball's version of "Can you top this?"

A day after completing a $245 million, seven-year contract for Stephen Strasburg with Washington that set a record for pitchers, Boras said Cole will command even more.

Strasburg set a record for total dollars and average salary for pitchers. Citing that Cole is two years younger than the 31-year-old Strasburg and has been more durable, Boras said seeking a higher amount "would be a logical path to take."

"There have been numerous offers made by clubs, and so we're actively in the middle of it," Boras said Tuesday, surrounded by a swarm of media in the hotel lobby at the winter meetings. "Normally when you have this many people involved and you're that far along, it's probable something can be done in a very short term."

The New York Yankees are trying to land Cole to join a young core group that includes Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Gary Sánchez. The Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers, near Cole's home, also are thought to be interested.

Cashman visited the 29-year-old right-hander and wife Amy in California last week to discuss "potentially joining our band of merry men," bringing along manager Aaron Boone, new pitching coach Matt Blake and special adviser Andy Pettitte.

"I can't guarantee you we're going to wind up with the player or not," Cashman said. "I can just guarantee a championship-caliber effort on our part."

Cole helped the Houston Astros beat the Yankees in a six-game AL Championship Series. He would join a rotation that already includes Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ or Domingo Germán, who may be suspended at the season's start under baseball's domestic violence policy,

"Obviously, when you are talking about a player...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Gerrit-Cole-Scott-Boras-ready-to-play-Can-you-14897459.php