The worst-case scenario has come to fruition for the New York Yankees, as ace Gerrit Cole will undergo Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, the team announced.
The decision comes after a meeting on Monday in Los Angeles with famed surgeon and Tommy John specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache. The procedure will end his 2025 season roughly two-and-a-half weeks before Opening Day.
Cole began experiencing discomfort in his throwing elbow following his spring training start on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins. After undergoing an initial MRI, the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner admitted that he was “concerned” by the results. He had sought out a second opinion over the weekend, which ultimately pointed toward the procedure getting done.
General manager Brian Cashman did not do much to add optimism to the situation, either, saying on Sunday that he was “prepared for the worst.”
This was the second consecutive spring in which Cole had dealt with an elbow issue. While surgery was on the table then, it was decided that he would get shut down from throwing. He did not make his 2024 debut until June 19 and was clearly not the same shutdown pitcher he had been the year prior.
In 95 innings, he posted a 3.41 ERA and a 1.130 WHIP with 99 strikeouts. While he sported a 2.17 ERA in five postseason starts, he was on the mound during the Yankees’ fifth-inning collapse in Game 5 of the World Series, which ultimately gifted the title to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cole played a major role in that calamitous inning when he failed to cover first base with the bases loaded and two outs, which keyed the Dodgers’ comeback.
Further drama grew when Cole initially opted out of the remainder of his contract, which has four years and $144 million left on it, only for him to return on the exact same terms — as though nothing ever happened.
Now, the Yankees’ once-imposing starting rotation has been thinned to a dangerous extent. With their ace now done for the year and reigning AL Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil, set to miss at least the first three months of the season due to a lat strain, New York’s rotation is topped by the newly-acquired Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Marcus Stroman.
Fried signed the largest contract by a left-handed pitcher in MLB history to join the Yankees at eight years and $218 million and will assume the role of ace behind the inconsistent Rodon. Stroman, who is due $18 million this season, was supposed to be the odd man out this year as the Yankees tried to trade him all winter.
Instead, he is projected to be the No. 4 starter, with either Will Warren or Carlos Carrasco assuming No. 5 duties.
