Gerrit Cole: Using analytics to make product worse is 'just stupid'

Gerrit Cole doesn't have an issue with analytics as long as it's used to put a better product on the field.

"I don't want to see that kind of stuff (analytics) used to make the product worse or to manipulate overhead," Cole said at a press conference on Monday, per Yankees Videos. "That's just stupid."

Cole addressed the topic following the resignation of Seattle Mariners president and CEO Kevin Mather after a video surfaced of the executive discussing service-time manipulation of top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez, among other things.

While the Mariners disputed the claims of service-time manipulation, clubs routinely avoid bringing up talented youngsters to the majors too soon, gaining an additional year of control as a result.

In 2015, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was kept in the minor leagues for eight days after a fantastic spring camp. This led to Bryant filing a grievance, which he eventually lost in January 2020.

"I certainly don't want to restrict somebody's knowledge or trying to find some sort of an edge with numbers. They have a place in the game," Cole explained. "When the analytics are used to suppress salary, or to manipulate service time, or for things other than trying to put the best product on the field, that's concerning."

Cole also appeared to take a shot at the Tampa Bay Rays' use of in-game analytics after they pulled pitcher Blake Snell in the sixth inning of their Game 6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

"I would hope that if you pulled the pitcher too early in a pivotal game in the World Series that the next time you had an opportunity to get there you would maybe make a different decision."