Yankees' Updated Payroll for 2025 Roster After Gerrit Cole Contract Decision

Gerrit Cole made the strange decision to opt out of his contract with the New York Yankees before deciding to remain with the team... on the exact same four-year, $144 million contract he opted out of in the first place, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Per that report, "Discussions on a potential contract extension will continue. Essentially, it's the same as if Cole did not opt out."

Well OK then. So, that bizarre decision aside, where does this leave the team's payroll heading into the 2025 season?

Per Spotrac, the Yankees currently have $186.4 million in adjusted payroll allocations and $235 million in projected payroll expenditures when taking into account arbitration and pre-arbitration estimates. That's already a hefty sum, and that's before taking into account the astronomical cost it will take to keep Juan Soto if the Yankees are able to re-sign him.

The belief is that the floor—yes, the floor—for a Soto deal is 10 years and $500 million, meaning that to retain him, the Yankees will need to add at least $50 million to their payroll projections for next season, which would bring them up to around $285 million. And that might be on the low end of predictions regarding Soto's contract—he's going to have a vibrant market.

That is doable, of course—the Yankees sat at $309.4 million this past season, second in baseball behind only the New York Mets ($317.7 million). The Yankees have enough money coming off the books to pay Soto big money, though it may mean the team will have to cut some financial corners to address other needs on the roster.

Taking that approach, would the Yankees simply be mirroring the flashy and powerful but fundamentally unsound group that reached the World Series this past season, losing the Fall Classic in part due to terrible defense and head-scratching mental lapses?

Perhaps. But players like Soto—who just turned 26, by the way—don't come around often, and pairing him with Aaron Judge gives the Yankees the most dynamic star duo in the sport. They don't have much choice but to at least make a good-faith effort to re-sign him.