The Yankees had until 5 p.m. Monday to give Cole a one-year, $36 million extension to waive his opt-out right, but when they did not exercise that right, Cole opted to remain on place and will still receive the four years and 144 dollars. million remaining on its original nine-year, $324 million contract.

The Yankees and Cole will remain in talks on a revised contract, but there is no longer a deadline.

Cole exercised his opt-out clause on Saturdayallowing the Yankees to walk away and save $144 million. Yet they still should have hit the free agent market to replace him. They ultimately decided he was better than anyone on the market, even with Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Max Fried available. They also weren’t about to enter the 2025 season with a starting rotation of Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman.