Getty Gerrit Cole
The New York Yankees ace, and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, Gerrit Cole is slated to miss “one to two months,” according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. After meeting with Dr. Neal ElAttrache it was confirmed that Cole had no tear in his UCL “does not require Tommy John surgery,” according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
Cole is dealing with “nerve inflammation and edema,” according to Hoch. Cole, who had made one spring training appearance in 2024, revealed what may have played a role in his injury.
“I think we determined that we just got a little too hot a little too quick this spring,” Cole said on March 16. “We progressed through the normal recovery cycle, but at a certain time we didn’t get back to the baseline which was our target. At that point, it was time to see what was going on.”
Gerrit Cole’s Injury Timeline
Cole will not require platelet-rich plasma injections and will continue to work out to keep his arm live until he can return to throwing. He said it was “too soon” to select a date for when he would start throwing again, but he will go “three to four weeks” without throwing and then move forward from there, according to Hoch.
Since joining the Yankees, Cole has been practically a stranger to missing games. He has made 33 starts in each of the last two seasons and 30 in 2021. Cole has made four consecutive Opening Day starts for the Yankees.
“It’s not a common experience for me; I haven’t really dealt with anything like this before,” Cole said to Hoch when asked about his thoughts on going to see a specialist. “Anytime you’re going through something for the first time, there’s a little bit of uncertainty, but I had a lot of faith.”
Cole had thrown simulated games during spring training. He made his lone Grapefruit League game appearance on March 1 and “likened his level of fatigue following outings to what he usually would feel after throwing 100 pitches during the regular season,” Hoch wrote.
Yankees Plan Without Cole
Gerrit Cole is borderline irreplaceable, but the Yankees will have to do their best to win games without him. Cole’s 2.53 ERA, 15-4 record and 209.0 innings pitched all led the American League. The 33-year-old right-hander won his first Cy Young award in 2023 after finishing as the runner-up twice in the past.
The team announced Nester Cortes as the Opening Day starter, against the Houston Astros, on March 15. Carlos Rodón and Marcus Stroman will follow him up. Cortes missed time during the 2023 season with a rotator cuff strain and spent much of the offseason rehabbing.
Cortes is recovering well in between outings and “feels healthy,” Hoch wrote.
While the Yankees have starters for their opening series selected they could still add a pitcher. They were recently involved in trying to acquire Dylan Cease, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, who was ultimately dealt to the San Diego Padres.
“I feel good about our internal options,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman on March 16, according to Hoch. “At the same time, it’s never stopped us from having external conversations. That was going on before this, and it’ll continue to go on until it’s pencils down in July.”
Clark Schmidt is in line behind Cortes, Rodón and Stroman. A fifth starter will be determined later, according to Hoch.
“We’re solid,” Cole told Hoch. “Our guys are looking good and ready to go.”