While meeting with Gerrit Cole during the free agency process, Brian Cashman used a literary reference to help court the pitcher.

"You're my white whale," the New York Yankees general manager said he told Cole. "He was someone we drafted in the first round, and he chose to go to college. And we tried to trade for him, and Pittsburgh chose to trade him to Houston instead. So we're hoping three's a charm."

The Yankees agreed to a nine-year, $324 million contract with Cole earlier this week.