Gerrit Cole must be the Yankees' target

Within every mega-deal bestowed upon a pitcher lurks one dirty little secret: 

Eventually, the signing team will regret this. 

They all do. At some point, Chris Sale reverts from Koufax to coleslaw, and Tim Lincecum becomes Tim Horton. (Wait... that wouldn't be so bad; at least we'd have the Breakfast Egg & Bacon!)  

Signing Gerrit Cole will require a 10-year monster deal - (he turned 29 last month) - that will surely turn into a pumpkin sometime around 2025. If we're still sentient by then, we at this blog will be whining to the juju gods about the $35 million-per-year millstone. But here's another dirty little secret: Whomever signs Cole will eventually trade him to the Yankees anyway, once his ERA soars north of Edwar Ramirez. Eventually, we'll end up holding the bag. Don't we always?

On that note, I say, let's shoot the moon now, and restore the Yankees as baseball's glamour - and most hated - franchise. Let's do this now, before Houston or Boston steals our limelight for another decade, if not this entire generation. 

Just as Hal Steinbrenner's dad once shelled out for Catfish Hunter - a transformational acquisition that ended our 12-year, Vietnam-to-Watergate barf - it's time for the Yankees to exercise their one great advantage over the opposition: Their money. And here's the dirtiest little secret of all: They can do this without running their payroll into the clouds. 

First, they'll save $8 million from the retirement of CC Sabathia.  

Secondly, they can give Didi Gregorius a gold watch and let him walk. Gleyber Torres can play SS, with Miguel Andujar returning at 3B, Gio Urshela or DJ LeMahieu at 2B, and Luke Voit, Greg Bird and Mike Ford duking it out at 1B. They have a fielding SS wizard in the minors named Kyle Holder. Yes, everyone loves Didi, but letting him go will save $12 million.

As much as it hurts, let Brett Gardner secure a two-year, pre-retirement deal with another team. This will be his final big paycheck. Even with Aaron Hicks out through July - (so, what else is new?) - the Yanks have plenty of outfielders, and, yes, Clint Frazier deserves a shot. That's another $10 million in savings.

Finally, if Aroldis Chapman opts out of his Yankee contract - as I suspect we all secretly hope - that's another $17 million.

That's possibly $47 million - free and clear - to spend this winter, and while these are cocktail napkin figures, even if El Chapo and Gardy stay, it's obvious that the Yankees can outbid anybody in a test of will. Of course, maybe it won't matter. Maybe Cole wants to move to his (rapidly burning) California roots, or stick with the (rancid wife-beating) Astros. But there is no excuse for the Yankees to poor-mouth. 

The Yankees will enter 2020 with an intriguing mix of young pitchers. In most farm system ratings - (as ridiculous as they are) - the bulk of their top prospects are pitchers. The current MLB.com Yankee Top 30 list includes 16 pitchers, including six - Deivi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt, Albert Abreu, Nick Nelson, Trevor Stephan and Michael King - who should be ready this year. Domingo German and Jonathan Loiasiga could make the rotation, and Luis Severino will turn 26 this winter. This could be a dynamic staff. All that's missing is an ace.

Last year, the Yankees sat on their hands throughout the Bryce Harper and Manny Machado auctions. Let's give them credit: It turned out to be the right move. But there comes a time when the team needs to utilize its financial strength. That time is coming. We need Gerrit Cole.