TAMPA — Gerrit Cole knows exactly where his first Cy Young award is going to go.
The Yankees ace has an office at home, so the hardware will sit behind his desk. Should Cole have to appear on any video calls, his greatest personal accolade will be in full view.
Cole is leaving space for a second Cy Young after winning the award in 2023. However, a repeat is not a stated goal. Instead, Cole has his eyes on an even bigger prize in 2024.
“It’s obviously a really special honor, and I’m very thankful to be able to represent the Yankees and my teammates in receiving that award,” Cole said. “With that said, it’s not on the goal list. It wasn’t on the goal list any year. That list and that process has produced a pretty good result, so I’ll probably stick with that and, with that said, go out there and prepare to win a world championship.
“I mean, that’s really at the top of the list.”
The topic of championships came up repeatedly on Thursday when Cole held a press conference at George M. Steinbrenner Field. A ring is the most significant thing his stellar résumé is missing, though the righty has come close to winning it all in the past.
This year, he’d like to finally check off that box.
“I don’t think it’s a hole [on my résumé], but that was one of the reasons — in fact probably the main reason — why I’m here,” Cole said. “The Yankees, the Steinbrenner family and us as an organization, we set out to do that goal every single year, and they provide us with the opportunity to certainly accomplish that goal every single time. As a player, you don’t take that for granted, and it’s on the forefront of your mind every time you’re preparing.”
While Cole pitched in the World Series with the Astros in 2019, he’s yet to reach the Fall Classic in pinstripes. He likely thought he would have by now after signing a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees prior to the 2020 season, but that hasn’t happened.
Cole can opt out of his deal after this season, but the Yankees can void the opt out by giving the pitcher a 10th year for the cost of $36 million. Cole’s agent, Scott Boras, has said that’s all likely to happen.
In the meantime, Cole is focused on winning a championship. Doing so would require a major turnaround from the Yankees, who missed the playoffs and finished fourth last year.
Cole said that “disaster was an appropriate word” to describe the campaign, but he liked that the team fought to finish over .500. Still, “there’s a lot of room for us to get better,” he acknowledged.
Asked what went wrong, Cole highlighted the onslaught of injuries that ravaged the Yankees last year, especially when it came to the rotation.
“Certainly, there were injuries that are outside of the normal realm of injuries that impacted us,” Cole said. “With that said, we get injured too much as a group. We need to improve.”
The Yankees have already improved their roster, most notably adding Juan Soto to the lineup. Cole called the 25-year-old a “magnificent hitter” with the “best feel for the strike zone that I’ve ever come across.”
As for the rotation, the Yankees added Marcus Stroman to a group that also includes Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt. Rodón and Cortes are injury risks, but Cole noted that the projected group has lots of talent.
“The top four guys are former All-Stars,” Cole said. “Clarke Schmidt had a career year last year and is looking to build on a really solid innings buildup and a really solid body of work. The depth guys, I’m not quite as familiar with, but obviously are highly regarded and strike throwers, which are always welcome in the major leagues. So certainly excited to see what some of the young guys have to bring.”
