Cole Escapes Elbow Surgery
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Matthew Kennedy
The confidence in the clubhouse and the energy in the stands has already suffered a blow, but not a crippling one. Losing Cole for the first two months of the season will be hard as nothing can replace the best pitcher in baseball. But the Yankees have some other weapons in their roster that, while not as polished, are still very capable of holding down the fort in the absence of their ace. For example, last year’s mid-season acquisition Carlos Rodon is looking to put his starts in New York behind him and pitch like the All-Star he showed he can be in Chicago and San Francisco. The team will need its other pitching assets to keep the ship afloat for the first couple months of the season and allow Cole to return to a team that hopefully will be on an upward trajectory.
This has not been a good week for Yankee fans. In fact, it spelled a minor disaster. Reigning Cy Young Award winner, Gerrit Cole, will miss 10-12 weeks due to an elbow injury. Thankfully, not all is lost, as Cole will not require Tommy John surgery. But New York will be without their ace for at least two months to start the season. While the tests came up negative for any ligament damage, there were enough red flags in the report to force the Yanks to bench Cole to allow him to recover. Starting him on Opening Day and the first month of the season would jeopardize his health in the long run. Right now, rest, rehab, and non-surgical treatment is what Cole needs to get back to full health, and the Yankees have made the right decision removing him from the roster for the time being. Gambling on his long-term health is not a risk that is worth taking – the Yankees would rather be without Cole in April than in October.
In the grand scheme of things, the news could have been much worse. Cole has not been 100% for quite some time and New York had been holding its breath on his availability to start the season. Yankee manager Aaron Boone, had previously stated that Cole was not recovering well between outings to start Spring Training. The fact that he can avoid Tommy John is a major relief for an organization that is looking to make a run at the World Series title after failing to make the playoffs last year. Two months is a lot different than a whole season. The time Cole would need to recover if he were to undergo surgery.
Without Cole on the bump for the entirety of the season, the Yankees would stand almost no chance at winning it all, something they’ve failed to do for too long. Every contending team needs an ace, a guy who can hold the rotation together and get you 5-7 innings of quality pitching in the vast majority of their starts. Especially New York, a team whose starting rotation has both struggled and constantly changed over the course of the past few years. All of last year, Cole was the one bright spot on a starting rotation that led New York to an 82-80 finish. He single handedly kept the Yankees in playoff contention for quite some time and they will need him to be lights out again this year to go deep if they get to the postseason.
Nestor Cortes has already been named the new Opening Day starter, after Marcus Stroman declined the offer. Cortes formed a brilliant 1-2 punch with Cole in the 2022 season, and is hoping to put together a comeback year on the mound. If he can manifest his 2022 self back into the Yankees’ rotation, it will lift a lot of pressure off Cole and allow him to pitch more leisurely, something that would surely lessen his chances of getting injured again.
