TAMPA, Fla. — Gerrit Cole no longer plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he hasn’t forgotten his first professional organization.

Cole keeps close tabs on the Pirates. The right-hander still talks to some of his former teammates, though he last played for Pittsburgh in 2017 before being traded to the Houston Astros.

Deep in his heart, he still cares about the team that chose him with the first overall selection in the 2011 draft and brought him to the major leagues two years later.

Yet, while the New York Yankees’ spring training camp is about an hour north of Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., Cole seems a million miles away from his old team.

Cole is beginning a nine-year, $324 million contract he signed in December as a free agent. It is the richest deal for a pitcher in major league history.

Conversely, the Pirates’ payroll for the upcoming season figures to be under $55 million. Their biggest free-agent signing came Thursday when veteran outfielder Jarrod Dyson agreed to a one-year, $2-million contract.

“Going from Pittsburgh to Houston was obviously a big change,” Cole said Thursday before the Yankees worked out at Steinbrenner Field. “This is a different level completely. I don’t think you can get to any higher level. The commitment to winning here is amazing.

“The goal every year is to win the World Series, nothing less. You can’t ask for anything more as a player than to know your organization really wants to win.”

The Astros won the American League West in each of Cole’s two seasons, losing to the Boston Red Sox in the AL Championship Series in 2018 and falling to the Washington Nationals in the World Series last season.

However, the Yankees play in the largest market in the country and annually lead the majors in revenue. Ownership has long showed a willingness to plow money into the team.

That is why New York showed no hesitancy in signing Cole to a contract that won’t expire until he turns 38. While the Yankees have won 27 World Series titles, easily the most in major league history, their championship drought extends to 2009.

The Yankees believe Cole will put them over the top in October.

“He’s arguably the game’s best pitcher,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re adding a bona fide ace to already what we feel like is a really good rotation. We just feel like he’s that anchor at the top.”

Cole certainly was that type of pitcher during his two seasons with the Astros, going a combined 35-10 with a 2.68 ERA in 65 starts. He finished second to teammate Justin Verlander in last season’s AL Cy Young Award voting.

Cole had his moments with the Pirates, including winning 19 games in 2015. However, he clearly is a better pitcher than he was in Pittsburgh.

Owner Bob Nutting cited the number of players who seemed to get better once they left the Pirates organization as one of the reasons for firing general manager Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle at the end of last season.

When it was suggested to Cole he perhaps had a hand in Huntington and Hurdle getting axed, he didn’t take the bait.

“It’s been a lot of factors,” Cole said about his rise to stardom. “I learned some things in Houston, did some different things that helped me, but a lot of it, too, is just gaining experience and having a better idea of what I’m capable of both from a physical and mental standpoint.

“It was kind of like a lot of things were kind of simmering on the stove, and then it ended up getting cooked just enough.”

And Cole harbors no ill will toward the Pirates.

“They’ve made a lot of changes,” Cole said. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens. I hope it all works out for them.”

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