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Tyler Kepner | New York Times: With the signing of Gerrit Cole, the Yankees are seemingly back to flexing their financial muscle, finally. The groundbreaking signing early Wednesday morning is sure to please a large contingent of Yankee fans who were waiting to see their $20 milkshakes go towards signing a superstar, but make no mistake: the fans who claimed the Yanks used to “buy championships” will be back, and in greater numbers (like the sand people on Tatooine).
Jason Gay | Wall Street Journal: Cole is officially filthy rich, and is heading to the Big Apple. Jason helps Cole by mapping out what his expenses could look like in the city, where things are ridiculously expensive and that $324 million could dwindle faster than expected. It’s a fun read, though not if you have hopes of living in the city one day. It’s not cheap.
Mike Axisa | CBS Sports: The Bombers officially have their “white whale,” but there is still plenty of winter before spring training opens. What should they do in that time? Well, bringing back Brett Gardner, dumping J.A. Happ’s contract via trade and finding some infield depth would be a good place to start.
Kristie Ackert | Daily News: The Yankees made a splash by getting Cole, but there was still somber news as well, like the departure of Didi Gregorius and now, it seems likely that Dellin Betances won’t be back either. Aaron Boone discussed the bullpen as being basically set for 2020, meaning Betances’ career in pinstripes is likely at an end. It’s an absolute shame the way he went out with an injury-riddled 2019 after being one of the best bullpen arms in baseball for years.