 Hey great to have you with us on Yankees hot stove here on yesnetwork.com Bob Lorenz John Flaherty and Jack Curry with you So the Yankees reportedly meeting with both free agents Garrett Cole and Steven Strasburg over the course of the past week made the Trip to the West Coast to do it and it by all indications Jack It sounds like they had a very positive meeting with Cole if you want a player of Cole's status Bob You're not going to lean up against the wall You're gonna get on a plane and you're going to go and let him know how interested you are in him You're going to sell yourself and that's what I feel that the Yankees did in this situation They went to Cole and explained why New York would be a perfect fit for him There was reports out today that they brought Andy Pettit with them Andy Pettit Of course a long long time successful Yankee when Garrett Cole was a kid He was a Yankee fan and he followed Andy Pettit So I think if you were handing capping this race right now the Yankees might be in the lead The issue though is it's a long race. Can they stay in the lead and eventually get a deal done? Well, I think the Yankees remembered what they did with CC Sabathea, right? The biggest free agent on the market at the time they went out to California They met with him and to use a basketball term They put the full court press on him and it worked out He came to the Yankees had a very successful run as a New York Yankee well Cole. It's the same thing I think they want to let the player know first and foremost We're all in on this the dollars are going to be there But as an organization, we're going to sell ourselves and sell New York and the Yankees and why it's the best fit for him Now the question is did the full court press work or the first step of it? Does he want to be a Yankee because the money is going to be out there with a bunch of clubs? It really comes down to do you want to win and win a championship in New York, right? You're right about the money. He will begin the 2020 season as the highest paid pitcher in baseball history I think everybody is in agreement with that The the talk is the West Coast does he want to stay on the West Coast and say the Yankees and the angels or the Dodgers had competitive offers is New York enough of a poll for him And I think that's why the Yankees as you said John the full-core press went out there face-to-face Wanted both Cole and his wife to know how important he could be to putting them over the hump And it is interesting to make that comparison to sabatia because both California guys both guys who were rumored to stay out in California the Yankees made sure that he came to New York and by the way in that instance the team that had the Second best offer behind the Yankees was the angels one quick sidebar before we go Scott Boris is the agent For Garrett Cole and Strauss by Bergberg, but we're talking about Cole on one hand Cole could go to him and say I want the Yankees Get it done, but knowing it's Scott Boris driven process Could he drag it out longer than maybe it should go Boris typically preaches patience with his clients and believes that the longer The negotiation goes the more it works in their favor one thing that people who know Cole well have said about him is that he's a Very independent player. Yes. He has an agent But he's the one who'll be making on the decision where he's going to spend the next seven or eight years of his career So I think it's a very interesting question Bob And I think if you're the Yankees you continue in this manner Whatever steps or progress you felt you made in meeting with him figure out what step two is or straight step three is We don't believe money or or talks or parameters have been discussed yet But I think Garrett Cole knows he's gonna be a very well-paid man Yeah, I think one thing to remember when you're a player your agent works for you and represents you But I think Brian Cashman has been down this road so many times with so many big free agents He's going to know right away if Scott Boris is using the Yankees to drive up the price or if Garrett Cole really wants to be Thank you. All right, so we're gonna keep an eye on obviously the winter meetings are next week in San Diego Thanks for joining us for all the latest Yankees content video and more stay with yes network com