Blue Jays offered Gerrit Cole $300 million?

Gerrit Cole signed a record-breaking deal with the New York Yankees, but he may have had a similarly massive offer from elsewhere in the AL East.

Appearing Tuesday on SportsNet 590 The FAN, Toronto journalist Joey Vendetta said that the Toronto Blue Jays offered the righty $300 million.

“I heard from a reliable source, a very reliable source, someone that knows the front office, that’s involved in the running of the team,” said Vendetta. “They offered 300 million dollars to Gerrit Cole to become a Toronto Blue Jay.”

The 29-year-old Cole wound up signing a historic nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees, the largest contract ever for a pitcher. Toronto, meanwhile, went out and got reigning MLB ERA leader Hyun-Jin Ryu on a much more economical four-year, $80 million contract.

The Blue Jays, who went 67-95 last season, are obviously much further from contention than the Yankees are, which probably factored into Cole’s decision. But this at least shows that they are willing to spend big money to win, and they may not be done adding pitching just yet.

H/T Baseball Reddit