The Yankees are the talk of Major League Baseball after landing free agency's biggest prize, pitcher Gerrit Cole.
The 29-year-old right-hander agreed to a whopping nine-year, $324 million contract with the Bombers on Tuesday night.
On their show Wednesday morning, WFAN's Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti lauded the Yankees for closing the deal.
"What you do have, without question, you have one of the top three starting pitchers in Major League Baseball, that every time he takes the ball, if you're in the midst of a losing streak or you want to start a winning streak -- however you want to look at it -- you have that person, you have that attitude on the mound for you," Esiason said on the "Boomer and Gio" show.
"Gerrit Cole, you don't have to worry about him," said Giannotti. "Now I'm not saying he's going to be perfect, but as far as his makeup and if he can pitch in New York and if he can pitch in the postseason, I mean, that's a lock. You know that. I can't see this guy crumbling in a big spot. We just watched him in the postseason be unbelievable."
Boomer did express some concerns about whether the Cole contract -- a record for pitchers -- will prevent the Yankees from re-signing some of their own players in the years to come. But Gio said it was a move that had to be made.
"I don't know if this is going to hamstring them in the future of them making other free agent splashes and worrying about signing your own guys and now you've got Giancarlo Stanton making $300 million and Gerrit Cole making $300 million, but this is something that they could not be outbid by the Dodgers or Angels," Giannotti said. "This was their offseason to get the big fish, and they got him. And we had been screaming the last couple of years about the one thing that (general manager) Brian Cashman hasn't been able to do in recent memory ... talking about the last four, five, six years, is get that starting pitcher, either in a trade or in free agency, to put them over the top."
Both Boomer and Gio agreed the Yankees, who reached the American League Championship Series last season, will now feel intense pressure to win it all.
Also Tuesday, the Yankees lost shortstop Didi Gregorius to the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency. Esiason and Giannotti reflected on how remarkable Gregorius' five years in the Bronx were.
"This guy was a clubhouse leader, and he did one of the most impressive things that we have seen in Yankee pinstripes over the last decade or so, which was replace Derek Jeter and be a guy that people weren't comparing him to," Gio said.
"It's amazing what he did when you think about what he accomplished here as a Yankee baseball player," Boomer said. "So I don't know, I'm going to miss him. I think he's a terrific player, think he's a terrific leader, like you said."
To listen to the open from Wednesday's "Boomer and Gio" show, click on the audio player above.
