Gerrit Cole is likely out for the season, as he will need Tommy John surgery.
Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees will need Tommy John surgery after suffering an injury in Spring Training. This surgery will end his season.
Who is Gerrit Cole?:
To get some understanding of how big this situation is, you need to know who Gerrit Cole is. Gerrit Cole is a well-renowned starting pitcher who is the ace(or best starting pitcher) of the New York Yankees. He started out his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he quickly cemented himself as a known name within his first three years in Major League Baseball. He finished top 20 in Most Valuable Player(otherwise known as MVP) voting in 2015, which was only his 3rd year in the league, along with being top 5 in Cy Young voting that same year. He is a 6 time all star, with a career ERA under 3.20. He led the American League in ERA twice, and led the same league in FIP once, when he did it back in 2019. He led the AL in wins once, and led pitchers in WAR two years later. At the time of his signing with the Yankees, he was paid the highest contract ever for a pitcher. It is also worth mentioning that in his two year stint with Houston from 2018-2019, he had a 2.68 ERA, an even better FIP of 2.67, a WHIP of 0.96, 11.8 WAR as a starting pitcher in just two seasons, a World Series appearance, and a 35-10 record.
A breakdown of what happened:
The Yankees faced off against the Minnesota Twins, where he allowed six runs in 2 & ⅔ innings. It was undoubtedly a poor performance, which is very uncharacteristic of the Yankees ace. Cole experienced a different injury to his elbow last season, nerve irritation and edema, according to this ESPN article. However, he made his 2024 season debut for the Yankees in mid-June, as opposed to this season, where he will miss all of 2025, and some of 2026 because of his recovery from the surgery. It is not just Cole who has suffered an injury for the Yankees, as Luis Gil also went down in Spring Training with an injury, and he is expected to be sidelined for three months with a right lat strain. Two position players on the Yankees roster, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu, will also miss time and start the regular season on the injured list.
Is this bad for baseball?:
This injury is absolutely bad for baseball. Fans like to see the best players perform and the best pitchers pitch, and when a significant player goes down with an injury, it can be a huge disappointment for fans, particularly neutral fans of the sport. Point is, baseball is best when the best players play and are able to perform at their best, and when someone that is fun to watch goes down with an injury, it is always sad to see. Gerrit Cole is definitely one of those players, and no one deserves to go through an injury, especially one of this extent.
What does this mean for Gerrit Cole’s career?:
Cole is 34 years old, but according to this mlb.com article, he said on his social media post “I have a lot left to give, and I’m fully committed to the work ahead”. Another note for Cole; a former teammate of his, Justin Verlander, came back at age 39 from Tommy John surgery, the same surgery Cole is having, and immediately won his third Cy Young in 2022, which is the year Verlander came back. It is safe to say that Cole’s career is not over, but there is a solid chance that he will not return to his Cy Young caliber form.
Where does the Yankees rotation stand after this devastating injury?:
Gerrit Cole, and as previously mentioned Luis Gil are both injured and will be out for a while. While Gil’s injury is not nearly as severe or costly as the Yankees ace, the Yankees are dealing with six other injuries on their major league roster. Those other injuries being starting pitcher JT Brubaker, relief pitcher Jake Cousins, relief pitcher Scott Effross, relief pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga, previously noted designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, and previously noted DJ LeMahieu. Talking about the starting rotation however, without the three injuries, their projected starting rotation as of right now on Fangraphs, looks like this: the ace of the opening day rotation will be offseason signing Max Fried, with lefty Carlos Rodon backing him up at the 2 spot. Marcus Stroman, who is likely to be in the opening day rotation for the Yankees, as the number 3 starter, then they will have Clarke Schmidt and the Yankees’ number 5 prospect according to MLB.com, right hander Will Warren starting at the 4 and 5 spots.
The Yankees will start the 2025 regular season against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 27th.
