Gerrit Cole blamed for hurting Yankees' chase for Dodgers' $325 million postseason ace
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is recovering from his Tommy John surgery, but recently found himself blamed for the team's output in closing Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is coming off pitching two complete games in the postseason.
MLB insider Jon Heyman dropped a bombshell Sunday night, reporting what bothered the Yankees from signing Yamamoto, who inked a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers in free agency before the 2024 season.
The Yankees were there for Yamamoto till $300 million, but they didn't match the Dodgers' winning bid because of the following reasons (via Heyman):
1) They thought $300M was the right offer
2) They didn’t believe anyone should have a bigger deal than Gerrit Cole.
3) NYY offered opt-out after 5 yrs, but not a $50M signing bonus.
Gerrit Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million deal in December 2019. The Yankees wanted to maintain his status quo within the team, and as a result, they might have missed out on a much younger (27 YO) Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who could have delivered the result they have been waiting for since 2009.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto proving Yankees' front office wrong
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is delivering performance for the ages. In World Series Game 2, he threw 105 pitches for the whole nine innings, while only giving up one run and striking out eight hitters. He allowed four hits and zero walks.
In the NLCS game against the Milwaukee Brewers, he threw an almost identical complete game, as he became the only pitcher since Curt Schilling (2001) to have thrown back-to-back complete games in the postseason.
Had the Yankees gone harder for Yamamoto, they might have had him instead of the Dodgers. Having him in front of the rotation with Cole could have made them invisible in October.
However, now they have no other option but to see how much not going for Yamamoto could hurt them.
Myles Garrett Turns Heads With Raw Admission After Career Game
Cleveland Browns superstar pass rusher
A frustrated Garrett spoke with reporters following the game and turned a few heads with his comments given that he tallied five sacks and five tackles for loss against the Patriots.
Myles Garrett on his Browns-record 5 sacks: “I would throw that whole performance away for a win.”
“I would throw that whole performance away for a win,” Garret said, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe
Garrett passed Reggie White for the most career sacks before turning 30 years old, hitting 112.5 sacks for his career. He also doubled his sack total for the year after registering five sacks through the first seven outings of the season.
With his performance on Sunday, Garrett produced just the 20th game in NFL history in which a player recorded five or more sacks, per Scott Hanson of NFL RedZone.
Myles Garrett Chose to Stay With Browns on Huge Contract Rather Than Continue Pushing for Trade
GettyDefensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Garrett’s emotions are understandable, as the Browns defense has been a strong unit again this season, while its offense continues to struggle mightily.
That said, Garrett bears responsibility for some of his own misery. He publicly requested a trade from the franchise during the offseason, saying he wanted to go somewhere that he could compete for a Super Bowl.
But Garrett later chose to sign on the dotted line when Cleveland came to him with a four-year extension worth $160 million total, which keeps him under contract through his age-35 season in 2030.
Browns Offense Continues to Struggle Under Leadership of Rookie QB Dillon Gabriel
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Garrett also said during the offseason that he wasn’t interested in being a part of another rebuild, though that’s exactly what is happening in Cleveland in 2025.
To the Browns’ credit, the team appears to have done reasonably well with regards to its rookie draft class. Five of the seven players the franchise selected back in April have earned regular starting roles, including linebacker
Unfortunately most rookie QBs struggle early on, which has been the case for Gabriel. The offense is averaging just 17.5 points per game during his four starts.
Next year’s class of signal-callers is both better at the top and deeper than was the group of quarterbacks that came out in 2025, but the notion of moving on to yet another rookie at the game’s most important position next year doesn’t bode particularly well for Cleveland’s immediate prospects.
And the defense got bad news on Sunday where its rookie resurgence is concerned, as Schwesinger left the contest with an ankle injury that could ultimately land him on the injured reserve list (IR).
“Browns LB Carson Schwesinger, one of the best rookies in a stellar class, is believed to have suffered a high-ankle sprain, source said,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported. “He’ll have an MRI, but those are typically 4-6 week injuries. He left the locker room in a boot.”
