SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Gerrit Cole waived his opt-out on Monday and will remain with the New York Yankees under a contract that runs through 2028 instead of becoming a free agent.

The New York star initially exercised his right to terminate the $324 million, nine-year deal, which had $144 million due and four years remaining. That decision triggered a two-day window for the Yankees to add a $36 million salary cap hit for 2029, which would have voided the opt-out.

Given the short time frame following the team’s World Series-ending defeat on Wednesday night, both sides extended the bargaining period to 5 pm EST on Monday, the deadline for option decisions in the collective bargaining agreement. As the deadline approached, both sides agreed to waive their rights and reached agreement on language with Major League Baseball and the players’ association.

“Maybe the grass isn’t always greener,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “I think he’s happy with where he’s at. I think he likes our setup. I think he likes playing for who he’s playing for and who he’s working for. And I think he likes his teammates. And I think he thinks we have a legitimate chance to win.”

Cashman said the talks included himself, Cole, manager Scott Boras, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine.

“Gerrit and Hal formed a close relationship, and remaining a Yankee was important to both of them,” Boras said in an email to The Associated Press. “It was clear to everyone that more time was needed to progress the discussions.”

Cashman said Cole “will hopefully end his career with the Yankees. Whatever happens at the end of this contract or in the future, we can still talk about that. But the most important thing is, the biggest first step is we get our ace back,” and we’re excited about that .”

Cole, a 34-year-old right-hander, won the 2023 AL Cy Young Award. Because the 2024 season doesn’t start until June 19 nerve irritation and edema in his right elbow. The six-time All-Star went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts and then went 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA in five postseason starts.

Cashman said Cole does not need any medical procedures and New York hopes he is healthy.

“But how many shooters are there, right?” Cashman said. “I’ll go into free agency meetings and look at all the players on the market over a certain age, and they’re all going to have their warts and some of them are going to pitch with them and some of them aren’t going to pitch at them. But obviously he makes us feel really good about his return.”

Cole’s decision leaves the Yankees with six potential returning rotation players, including Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman.

In addition, the Yankees made a $21.05 million qualifying offer to outfielder Juan Soto; he will also definitely reject this offer, but he did not offer one-on-one goalkeeper Gleyber Torres. If Torres signs with another team, New York will not receive draft pick compensation.

Cashman said the club has no qualms about including deferred compensation in contracts. Yankees deals don’t usually include that.

He said we are open to postponements. “Players are often less open to delaying for us than in other markets. “But if we can do things that will benefit us, of course we will.”

Cashman spoke to reporters for the first time since the Yankees squandered a five-run, fifth-inning lead against the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series; center fielder Aaron Judge and Gold Glove shortstop Anthony Volpe both erred and Cole did not. Cover first base in an important game.

“This team obviously wasn’t the best defensive team we’ve ever had. And this team obviously made some fundamental mistakes, but the situation in Game 5 ultimately involved players who were really, really good,” Cashman said. “Aaron Judge catches a fly ball a billion times a billion times.

“The Dodgers won the World Series and congratulations to them,” he added. “I wish we had given them our best shot, but you only have a small amount of time to do it. We earned the right to go there, but we didn’t play our best baseball while we were there and were sent home.”

Also on Monday, the Yankees traded outfielder Taylor Trammell to Houston for cash. The 27-year-old player was 1-for-1 in five games with New York this year and 0-for-6 in five games with the Dodgers. The Yankees claimed him off waivers in mid-April, and he hit .256 with 18 homers, 63 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York also assigned outfielder Duke Ellis directly to the RailRiders.

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