Jim Bowden of The Athletic is reporting that Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole has been recommended to undergo Tommy John Surgery, with second opinions being evaluated right now. The Yankees signed Max Fried to an eight-year deal earlier in the offseason with the hopes of pairing him with Cole, but things are pointing toward their ace being sidelined for the entire 2025 season and beyond.
Last season, Cole dealt with nerve inflammation in his right elbow and the Yankees were able to dodge a catastrophe then, but now there may not be as rosy of an ending. With the 2023 AL Cy Young winner potentially having a tear in his UCL the Yankees find themselves in a dark place just a few weeks into camp.
Gerrit Cole Recommended For TJS, Yankees Could Lose Ace For the Season
After a start against the Twins where Gerrit Cole was happy with his velocity and arm strength despite the poor results, elbow soreness would cause great distress for the right-hander. The initial imaging has reportedly shown what everyone had feared, which is that Cole sustained damage that would require Tommy John Surgery to address. As of right now, the team does not have a surgery scheduled for their star right-hander as he’ll seek second opinions for now.
Gerrit Cole made 17 starts last season and pitched to a 3.41 ERA, posting an 1.8 fWAR and helping the team capture the AL East crown in 2024. His postseason brilliance also brought them to their first World Series since 2009, but now the Yankees may have to run it back without their ace and try to get to the promised land. The Yankees did what they could to bolster the rotation by signing Max Fried, but nothing can truly replace Cole in the rotation.
Brian Cashman now stares down the challenge of trying to put together a starting five capable of holding their heads above water, which could prove to be impossible.
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Luis Gil was diagnosed with a high-grade lat strain earlier this week that will sideline him for the next three months at the very least, and Clarke Schmidt won’t be able to go until the sixth game of the season. This pushes both Marcus Stroman and Will Warren into starting roles unless more pitchers get hurt, where Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans would become the next men up.
Injuries have decimated the Yankees early into camp, as Giancarlo Stanton is also dealing with elbow issues that he described as severe, and prospects Thatcher Hurd and Chase Hampton have underwent Tommy John Surgery as well. The Yankees are in a tough spot right now, and there’s not much on the horizon that will soothe the loss of their best pitcher and one of the face’s of this franchise over the last five seasons.