Gerrit Cole, the New York Yankees’ starter injury status has been revealed after being sidelined with inflammation in his right elbow during spring training, according to his agent Scott Boras on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. He is pitching to batters at the Yankees’ training complex in Tampa and could be ready to begin a minor league rehab assignment next week.
Boras stated that Cole may still have a few more such live sessions, but his return to the major leagues is expected in mid-June.
“He feels fantastic. “There’s no pain,” Boras said of the defending American League Cy Young Award winner, who has yet to throw a pitch in game action this season. “He’s not revved up his program to 100%, but he’ll get there soon enough.”
The Yankees remain cautious about their star pitcher, who is in the fifth season of a nine-year, $324 million contract. Cole has an opt-out option at the end of this season with $144 million remaining on the contract, according to Spotrac, but the Yankees may avoid that decision by simply adding a tenth year (2029) at $36 million to the contract.
New York is taking its time, taking into account the situation and financial resources. Manager Aaron Boone would only confirm that Cole was throwing to live batters on Thursday—he had done so without incident on Tuesday—but would not speculate on what may happen after that. The team is aware that it avoided tragedy by keeping Cole from having elbow surgery for the time being.
There is no pressure on Cole to return because the Yankees’ starting pitching has been firing on all cylinders. Their five starters—Luis Gil, Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, and Clarke Schmidt—are on a Major League Baseball record 16-game string of pitching five innings or more while allowing two runs or fewer, the longest such streak since at least 1893.
The question is, who will be the odd man out when Cole returns? Cortes has experience as a swingman and in relief, but he hasn’t done so since 2021. Cole, Rodon, Stroman, Gil, and Schmidt appear to be safe.
Gil, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, pitched eight innings of one-run, two-hit ball with nine strikeouts in a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night. He threw 95 pitches, and no one considered allowing him to pitch the ninth, according to Boone.
Clay Holmes closed it out with a little trouble, but the Yankees hung on.
“We’ve always known he was talented,” Boone said of Gil, who currently leads the temporary starting staff with a 7-1 record and a 1.99 ERA. “But coming back from Tommy John and missing a year of baseball, it would’ve been hard to predict this.”
Overall, Yankees pitching leads the MLB with a 2.76 ERA, while their starters are second with a 2.69 ERA. As a result, the Yankees have a 19-game lead over.500, standing 38-19. With a 2.68 ERA, the Philadelphia Phillies’ starters lead the league.
And the pitching has done so without Cole, who was 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 33 starts last season.
“Look, I’m not surprised about what any of these guys are doing individually,” Boone stated. “Obviously, when Cole went down, it was a hardship. We needed to receive answers to inquiries. But if you told me all these guys were going to do what they’re doing, I wouldn’t be surprised. “I know what they are capable of.”
Gil, Rodon, Stroman, and Schmidt have a combined 16 wins. Rodon and Stroman were free agent signings; Rodon signed for six years and $162 million last season, while Stroman signed for two years and $37 million this offseason.
Rodon struggled in 2023 due to a left forearm stain and a back condition that limited him to 14 games, but he has responded well this year.
“Obviously we know that Stroman and Rodon post every year,” Cortes stated. “They have done this before. It puts pressure on us to get deep into games because Gerrit is capable of doing so every time he’s out there.”
It’s created some good rivalry among starting pitchers, said Cortes, who was also bothered by hamstring and rotator cuff problems last year.
“You want to go out there and do better than the other guy,” he stated. “When [Cole] fell down, it shocked us. But we were confident we had the appropriate people to keep us afloat. The onus was on us to pick up the slack and dive deep into the games.”
Gil, for his part, is simply taking things as it comes. In a minor deal with Minnesota in 2018, the Yankees acquired the 25-year-old Dominican player. He claimed he has no reservations about Cole coming back. Never gives it a thought.
“No, not at all,” he replied through a Yankees interpreter. “My focus is strictly on my job and getting ready for my next start.”
Cole recognizes that things can change rapidly with his homecoming. So do the rest of them.
Leave a Reply