SAN DIEGO — Alex Cora understood the Yankees were going to try to improve a 103-win team, so the Red Sox manager wasn’t stunned when he heard Boston’s blood rival signed Gerrit Cole to a staggering nine-year deal worth $324 million late Tuesday evening.
“We expected it. We knew that not only them but other teams were going to try and get better. Gerrit has been amazing the last few years. Got to meet him at the All-Star Game and talked a lot. He is a great guy,’’ Cora said Wednesday morning as the winter meetings moved toward Thursday’s finish line.