TAMPA -- Nearly a year after suffering an elbow injury that pushed his season debut back to June, New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said he is "in a really good spot" compared with recent years after starting his offseason throwing program earlier than in previous winters.

The right-hander posted a 3.41 ERA in 17 regular-season starts in 2024 before recording a 2.17 ERA in five postseason outings, including a seven-inning gem in Game 4 of an American League Division Series to close out the Kansas City Royals.

Now, two years removed from winning the AL Cy Young Award and entering his age-34 season, Cole expects to regain his place among baseball's best hurlers.

"My expectations are the same," Cole said after the Yankees' first official spring training workout.

For 48 hours in early November, just days after the World Series ended, it appeared as though there was a chance Cole's days as a Yankee could've been over. The star right-hander opted out of his contract -- a nine-year, $324 million pact that registered as the largest contract ever for a pitcher when he signed before the 2020 season -- with four years and $144 million remaining, giving the Yankees two days to void the opt-out with a one-year, $36 million extension.

The Yankees chose not to, giving Cole a path to free agency. Instead, after discussions between the two sides, Cole chose to remain with the organization on the four-year, $144 million contract he opted out of, as if he had not exercised the clause.

"The intention wasn't to do anything other than stay," Cole said Wednesday. "I was happy to be where my feet were, back in Yankee Stadium."

Manager Aaron Boone said he thought there was a chance Cole could hit the open market where he would surely garner another rich long-term contract. As for potential awkwardness after the brief tango between the two sides, Boone said Cole immediately expunged any.

"He had a good way about it," Boone said. "He came in, just talked about it openly after the fact when he came back in. So he kind of put us at ease a little bit, and [had] a laugh. And certainly, obviously, I'm excited that he came back."

Cole's return was the Yankees' first transaction in what became an active offseason. Within a week, the Yankees exercised the 2025 option on Boone's contract. A month after that, Juan Soto spurned them to sign a record-breaking deal with the New York Mets, spurring the club to quickly make a series of moves to improve the roster by the new year.

Max Fried was signed to an eight-year contract atop the starting rotation alongside Cole. Closer Devin Williams and outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger were acquired in trades. Paul Goldschmidt signed a one-year deal to play first base. Reliever Fernando Cruz came over in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds for backup catcher Jose Trevino. The result is a roster that is very different from the group that advanced to the franchise's first World Series in 15 years, but one that is expected to compete for another AL pennant nonetheless.

"He's a tremendous player," Cole said of Soto. "He was extremely impactful for us, and a joy to watch and a joy to be around. So, Juan will be missed for a certain extent. But the beauty of the Yankees is the ability to go out and fill the roster and fill the spots with the goal of getting back to the World Series and winning the World Series again."

Cole was in the middle of the Yankees' fifth-inning meltdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the deciding Game 5 of the World Series, which led a few members of the winning club to bluntly criticize New York's shortcomings. While Boone said he would like his team "to handle things with a little more class" if the Yankees find themselves in that position, Cole said he didn't pay much attention to the comments.

"It's a good push for us," Cole said of falling short in the World Series. "We're really proud of what we did. At the same time, we walked away from the season with a bitter taste in our mouths and just a real terrible feeling."

Other notes from Yankees camp:

Right-hander Eric Reyzelman, a non-roster invitee to spring training, suffered an allergic reaction before Wednesday's workout and was admitted to a local hospital, where he was slated to stay overnight, according to a team spokesperson. Reyzelman, 23, was a fifth-round pick out of LSU in 2022. He recorded a 1.16 ERA in 31 games (one start) across three minor league levels last season, culminating with 23 appearances in Double-A.

Boone said that Ben Rice is "definitely" in contention for the team's backup catcher job but that the club doesn't view him as solely a catcher. Rice, 25 and a catcher by trade, made his major league debut last season, appearing in 50 games but logging just one inning at catcher. He started 41 games at first base, batting .171 with seven home runs and a .613 OPS in 178 plate appearances as a rookie.