For the second straight spring, the Cole train has been derailed.
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has undergone an MRI on his throwing elbow for an injury that has the ace “concerned.” The club should have an update regarding his status within the next couple of days.
Speaking with reporters, Cole said that he was “hoping for the best” but expressed concern for what the tests may show.
The news came just one day after Cole was blasted for six earned runs in 2.2 innings by the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. Two of the five hits he allowed were home runs.
Cole said that while he wasn’t overly concerned by his performance, he started to feel more pain in his elbow when he returned home from the game.
“In the game, there was a lot of good stuff happening,” he said. “But as I got home I just continued to get more and more sore. Something wasn’t right.”
A year removed from winning his first career Cy Young award, Cole missed the first two months of the 2024 season with inflammation in the same spot — his throwing elbow. The Yankee ace finally returned in June, finishing the season with a 3.41 ERA over 17 starts with 99 strikeouts.
After struggling to recapture the magic from his previous season, Cole returned to peak form just in time for October. In five postseason starts, Cole boasted a 2.17 ERA over 29.0 innings with 22 strikeouts, leading the club to their first World Series appearance in 15 years.
Entering the season with what seemed to be an over-abundance of starting pitching, New York can no longer afford to lose Cole for an extended period of time. Reigning AL Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil has been shut down for the spring after suffering a high-grade right lat strain; Yankees general manager Brian Cashman confirmed that the 26-year-old phenom would be out for at least three months.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat it – he’s a top-of-the-league guy and has been an ace in this league for a long, long time,” fellow starter Clarke Schmidt said of Cole. “He’ll be missed if it’s something longer-term.
“Regardless, I think we’ve got to pick him up as a staff. I know we did a pretty good job of that in the first half last year when he was gone, and I think we’re very well capable of doing that again.”
