SAN ANTONIO — The New York Yankees declined to give ace Gerrit Cole a contract extension by Monday’s deadline, but Cole ultimately decided that he didn’t want to leave as a free agent anyway and is staying with the Yankees for at least the next four ...

In his time with the Yankees, Cole also has embraced his role as a de facto oracle of pitching for the staff, with veterans and rookies — and just about everyone in between who throw baseballs for a living — making frequent stops at or near his locker in spring training to talk about, as Cole always puts it, “the craft” of pitching.