New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole to keep four-year, $144 million contract he had withdrawn from Saturday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Monday.

Nothing much will change as Cole and the Yankees will still discuss any idea of ​​a contract extension. It would be the same if Cole did not opt ​​out of his contract, Passan added. He currently earns $36 million per season.

The big note from this news is that Cole will stay with the Yankees instead of becoming a free agent at this time, which was a possibility.

Cole is coming off a huge season with the Yankees, who were runners-up in the 2024 World Series behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cole shined in all of his postseason starts except for Game 5 of the World Series in which a disastrous fifth inning led the Dodgers to stage a dramatic comeback and close out the series. He pitched 29 innings, producing 22 strikeouts, 27 hits, 13 runs and one home run during his postseason streak.

The ace missed part of the 2024 season with an elbow injury, but started 17 games after making a midseason return. He posted a 3.41 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 95 innings on the mound.

The 34-year-old won the 2023 American League Cy Young Award.