SAN DIEGO — Meeting with Gerrit Cole and the pitcher’s wife for the first time last week at the Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach, Brian Cashman tossed out a literary reference that prompted laughter.

“You’re my white whale,” the New York Yankees general manager told him.

Cole and the Yankees have agreed to a record $324 million, nine-year contract.

Cashman harpooned the biggest prize in the free-agent market, agreeing to a deal with the 29-year-old right-hander on Tuesday.