Los Angeles Dodgers: Why its okay that the Dodgers didn’t sign Gerrit Cole

The Los Angeles Dodgers were one of few finalists in the mix for Gerrit Coole, who ultimately signed a record-setting deal with the New York Yankees.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were rumored to be in the mix for both Stephen Strasburg and Gerrit Cole. A day after Strasburg signed a record-setting contract with the Washington Nationals, Cole signed a record-setting deal with the New York Yankees, and the Dodgers signed neither.

Jon Heyman reported Tuesday night that Cole and the Yankees settled on a nine-year, $324 million contract. This shattered Strasburg, who held the record for the largest contract to a pitcher for just a day, by $79 million.

Dodger fans who were hoping and expecting the team to go after Cole are not happy with this news. The narrative that the Dodgers do not want to spend on premiere free agents will continue to grow and so will disdain for the front office.

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However, if we really look at the entire picture, it is quite clear that it is perfectly fine that the Dodgers did not sign Gerrit Cole. Cole is set to get paid $36 million per season for nine seasons, which is worth it for a Yankee team that needed an ace.

However, for the Dodgers, who still have an all-star in Clayton Kershaw, a young ace in Walker Buehler and a former top prospect and wunderkind in Julio Urias, $36 million a season for a starting pitcher is probably too much to ask.

Yes, the team is freeing up Kershaw’s contract as well as Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen in the next two seasons, which would have made more room for Cole. However, they also need to look in the future for extensions to Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Buehler and Urias.

The Chicago Cubs are the perfect example of how this can go wrong. With too much spending, the team cannot afford to pay its top home-grown stars, who are always the most popular. As a result, there is a decently realistic chance that the Cubs trade Kris Bryant this winter.

Would the Dodgers be better with Cole? Yes. And would I have minded if the team did sign him to a massive contract? Honestly, no. I think they could maneuver some things to extend at least three of those four guys previously mentioned.

However, I certainly am not worried about the Dodgers missing out on Cole. This is a team that is still going to have one of the five-best pitching staffs in baseball, with or without Cole. And it is not like the team cannot make other moves, as the focus has reportedly been shifted to Madison Bumgarner (h/t Ken Rosenthal).

The narrative that the Los Angeles Dodgers simply did not want to spend is an absurd one. They were definitely in on Cole and Heyman even tweeted that the team was “very aggressive”.

We still do not know how aggressive that is but if the Los Angeles Dodgers offered 10 years and $300 million it becomes really hard to spin the narrative that they do not want to spend.