TAMPA — Gerrit Cole insists he got what he wanted.

Of course, that did not include the extra $36 million that he tried to get added onto his contract by briefly opting out of it in November, but the episode ended with him remaining in pinstripes, which the Yankees ace said Wednesday was his goal all along.

A few days after the World Series ended, Cole opted out of his contract, which put the ball in the Yankees’ court.

They could either add one year and $36 million to the end of his contract to negate the opt-out or allow Cole to become a free agent.

The Yankees essentially called Cole on his bluff and declined to add the extra year, which ultimately led to Cole rescinding the opt-out and never testing the free agent market.

“The intention wasn’t to do anything other than stay,” Cole said after the first workout for pitchers and catchers at Steinbrenner Field. “I was happy to be where my feet were, back in Yankee Stadium.”

Asked if he had any frustration about the team not adding the extra year — which would have made it five years and $180 million left on his contract instead of the current four years and $144 million — Cole claimed he did not.

“I got what I wanted,” Cole said. “I wanted to be here.”

The situation opened the door for potential hurt feelings, but manager Aaron Boone said Cole “had a good way about him” when he returned to the team for the first time after the saga.

“He came in and talked about it openly after the fact,” Boone said. “He kind of put us at ease a little bit and a laugh. Certainly, I’m really excited that he came back.”

Had the 34-year-old Cole not missed the first two-plus months of last season with elbow nerve inflammation and edema — and then taken some time to knock off the rust once he returned to the Yankees, ending with a 3.41 ERA across 17 starts — it may have been a simpler decision for the club to add the fifth year to his contract.

Instead, GM Brian Cashman said in November the Yankees “weren’t comfortable” tacking on the extra year.

“We had good conversations as a group and ultimately decided to just continue along the path that we were at and maybe at some point in the future pick the conversation back up,” Cole said.

The Yankees would appear to have little incentive to add money and years onto Cole’s contract before it expires — when he will be 38 — but in the meantime, they are banking on him returning to his Cy Young form (or close to it) this season to bolster what should be a strong rotation if everyone stays healthy.

Boone said Wednesday he will not handle Cole any differently this spring after the right-hander suffered the elbow injury last March from getting “a little too hot a little too quick.”

Cole said he started his throwing program this offseason earlier than he has the last couple of years and has already faced hitters (and will do so again Thursday).

“In that regard, I’m in a really good spot compared to years past and probably slightly ahead of where we were last year,” Cole said.

Of course, the last time Cole was on the mound in October, his season ended in brutal fashion.

His failure to cover first base on a ground ball to Anthony Rizzo helped open the floodgates in the Dodgers’ five-run fifth inning in Game 5 of the World Series that sank the Yankees.

That has only added fuel to Cole’s fire coming into this year.

“It was a good push for us,” Cole said. “We’re really proud of what we did and, at the same time, walk away from the season with a bitter taste in our mouths. Just a real terrible feeling. As a competitor, you don’t enjoy those situations. But every time you step on the field, it makes you tougher. It’s another log on the fire that inspires you to put the work in when no one’s watching.”