The Yankees are going to be forced to navigate the start of the 2024 season without their ace.
Gerrit Cole is reportedly set to miss "at least" one to two months after undergoing an MRI to look at an injury to his pitching elbow, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Cole is coming off a season in which he won the AL Cy Young Award, the first time in his career he took home the award.
Cole is reportedly going to head to Los Angeles for an appointment with noted sports surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the same doctor that has operated on other prominent athletes such as Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Rodgers.
When the words "elbow" and "MRI" are used in the same sentence for pitchers, that raises red flags. The threat of Tommy John surgery lingers any time a player reports an injury to their pitching elbow.
The Yankees can ill afford to lose Cole for the entire season, as he is the only reliable starting pitcher in the team's staff. Carlos Rodón made just 14 starts in 2023, Clarke Schmidt and Domingo German both struggled, and Nestor Cortes took a step back after a breakout 2022. Marcus Stroman will likely be the team's No. 1 starter now that Cole will miss Opening Day.
Here's the latest on Cole's injury.
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Gerrit Cole injury update
Cole is reportedly going to miss at least one to two months of the 2024 season. While there are reports he could miss an "extended period" of time, the hope in the Yankees clubhouse is that he could return at some point in May or June.
Neither Yankees doctors nor ElAttrache found a tear in Cole's ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), however, there’s enough concern about the ligament that the L.A. doctor has recommended Cole fly out for an in-person visit.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Wednesday that the 1-2 month report is "speculation" and that the team does "not have all the information yet." When asked if Cole had a tear, he said he did not know.
"I think when you're putting all these things together, I mean, I can't answer that," Boone said. "I think they're — anytime you start taking pictures of any part of the body or the elbow, it's not always clear on first looks, second looks. That's why you do a lot of different [things] to try and get the best possible diagnosis."
Boone said on Monday that Cole was undergoing an MRI on the elbow, but did not reveal any further information. The ace had a tough time recovering between starts during spring training, Boone noted, which led to the evaluation of his elbow.
Cole, 33, has been a remarkably healthy pitcher throughout his career. Since he debuted in 2013, only Max Scherzer (315) and Zack Greinke (310) have made more starts than Cole (300). In that span, Cole is tied with six other pitchers for the second-most seasons with at least 30 starts with seven, trailing only José Quintana, who has hit the 30-start mark eight times between 2013 and 2023.
This post will be updated as further information is released.
Yankees pitching depth
- Gerrit Cole
- Marcus Stroman
- Carlos Rodón
- Nestor Cortes
- Clarke Schmidt
- Luke Weaver
The Yankees are looking at the worst-case scenario with Cole out at least 1-2 months. They were counting on him to be the team's ace heading into a season with a stout lineup and loaded bullpen but a shallow rotation.
Stroman has been consistent over his past four seasons, having pitched to a 3.38 ERA over 117 games between 2019 and 2023. (He opted out of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.) But his lack of strikeouts means he could regress as he ages.
Rodón signed a massive six-year, $162 million deal in 2023 but had a dismal first season with New York. He finished with a 6.85 ERA and made just 14 starts in an injury-plagued seasons. In his previous two seasons, he collectively had a 2.67 ERA across 55 starts, marking his best two years as a pro.
Cortes broke out as a solid swing pitcher in 2021 and flourished as a starter in 2022, when he had a 2.44 ERA, becoming an All-Star and finishing eighth in Cy Young voting. He was hit hard in 2023, however, as he mustered a 4.97 ERA and missed time due to shoulder injuries.
Schmidt pitched well as a starter and reliever in 2022 with a 3.12 ERA in his first full MLB season. He was shifted full-time to the rotation in 2023 and struggled to a 4.64 ERA over 33 games (32 starts).
With Cole sidelined, Weaver likely makes the leap into the rotation for the Yankees. He pitched for three teams in 2023 and had a 6.40 ERA across 29 outings (25 starts).
