Gerrit Cole was believed to prefer pitching for a team on the West Coast, but he reportedly has told one East Coast team that is not the case.
Cole met with the New York Yankees on Tuesday, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. During the meeting, Cole reportedly told the team he does not have a bias towards pitching on the West Coast.
Gerrit Cole assured the Yankees he has “no West Coast bias” at yesterday’s meeting which lasted 4 plus hours. Yankees believe he’s built for NYC but have been worried he preferred LA. No word yet on today’s meeting with Stephen Strasburg.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 5, 2019
Cole grew up in Orange County, Calif., very close to where the Angels play and not too far from the Dodgers either. Even one of his Houston Astros teammates predicted Cole would end up playing on a West Coast team.
The Yankees have been said to be targeting Cole in free agency, while the Angels similarly are said to be willing to pay whatever it takes for the ace. The race for Cole is shaping up to be a bidding war, and having the Yankees involved has to be agent Scott Boras’ dream.
