New York Yankees ace and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole will miss the first month, at least, and possibly up to two months this season. He will be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a renowned orthopedic surgeon and expert on elbow care, on Thursday in Los Angeles.
Gerrit Cole (elbow) is scheduled to see Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles today. Aaron Boone said the Yankees expect more information tonight.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) March 14, 2024
Manager Aaron Boone confirmed on Wednesday with reporters in Tampa that Cole has undergone an MRI, CT scan, and X-rays and now will receive “more advanced testing.”
Cole underwent his initial MRI on Monday after complaining about discomfort in his pitching arm. Boone told reporters then that his ace didn’t bounce back between appearances.
“His recovery, before getting to his next start, has been more akin to what he feels during the season when he’s making 100 pitches,” Boone told reporters. “When he’s at 45 [pitches] and building to 55, he usually doesn’t have the recovery issues he’s having.
“I think there’s a level of discomfort, but I wouldn’t describe it as he’s in pain.”
New York Yankees/Getty Images
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, several Yankees doctors and ElAttrache have viewed Cole’s preliminary film, and none have detected a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. However, there is enough concern for Cole to fly across the country for an in-person visit.
Heyman also joined MLB Tonight on MLB Network Wednesday night and discussed the injury further.
“It’s unfortunate news at this point for the most dependable and probably the best pitcher in baseball over the last several years… Perhaps, they will decide to do rest and rehab and try conservative treatment first before they do something drastic.”
“First, they had four Yankee doctors look at it – they found no tear and they felt that he could probably try to do rest and rehab.”@JonHeyman joins #MLBTonight to give insight on the timeline and details of Gerrit Cole’s elbow injury. pic.twitter.com/rZxIn8fZJA
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 13, 2024
The diagnosis so far is similar to former Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka who suffered a partially torn ligament in 2014 and opted for rehab. He missed about two and a half months before returning to the mound and pitched his entire professional career with it. However, that was not the case with Luis Severino in 2020 when multiple MRIs didn’t show a tear but a dye-contrast did. He required Tommy John surgery and returned in 2021.
There are a few question marks surrounding the Yankees’ rotation moving forward. Nobody has thrown more innings (664) than Cole since the start of the 2020 season. It will also be Cole’s first trip to the IL for a non-COVID injury since 2016.
New York sent several pitching prospects to San Diego in exchange for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. Marcus Stroman only pitched 24 innings in the second half of last season. Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes each had forgettable seasons and Clarke Schmidt had a mediocre season with a 4.64 ERA in his first full major league season.
Luke Weaver, Cody Poteet, Cody Morris, Clayton Beeter, Will Warren, and Luis Gil are contenders for the final spot in the rotation but with Cole’s injury, the Yankees could need two of them to step up.
If Cole receives devastating news on Thursday, the Yankees will be forced to consider signing free-agent pitchers Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. If they don’t want to spend top-dollar then Michael Lorenzen would also make sense.
The Yankees don’t need to panic just yet. At this point, it’s a waiting game and out of their control until they get the news from Cole and his doctor.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.