Under The Knife 3/12/24

Still Ticking

It’s been eleven years since my heart attack, so let’s get to the injuries:

GERRIT COLE, SP NYY (inflamed elbow)

There are MRI machines in Tampa, New York, and Birmingham, as well as internet access that allows images to be shared. That’s not the delay when it comes to Gerrit Cole and his elbow having results. What’s tougher is getting everyone on the same page, from the doctors consulted to the agent to the layers of Yankees brass gaming out every scenario, good and bad. For those that don’t know the process - and there seem to be plenty on social media - there’s almost never anything released until the entire process plays out. That can take days, absent leaks.

For Gerrit Cole, the “slow recovery” line doesn’t tell us much, nor would an MRI. The doctors are looking for an underlying cause. Cole has only made one spring training appearance and with the issues that have been described, that’s no surprise. It makes it harder to read from the outside, but any pain and inflammation post-work is a cause for concern.

Cole has been relatively healthy and durable as a starter since coming in to the league. Back in 2016, he had some elbow and triceps issues but rehabbed through them and was back to his normal levels after. Aside from the pandemic and lockout, he’s a lock for 190 innings plus, the level that’s largely been the “ace level” when sustained. We’ll have to see if delays to the start of his season might put him back at 2021 levels or worse.

Cole does have a lot of “mileage” on his arm, but he’s never been noticeably overused. While he’s slightly off his 2019 peak at age-33, that’s not surprising and he’s clearly the ace and linchpin of the Yankees rotation. Losing him for any period of time, let alone an extended period, would be irreplaceable and put the Yankees in much the same situation the Red Sox find themselves in with Lucas Giolito - losing him would make it less likely ownership would spend money.

There’s not a ton of depth to the Yankees rotation. Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Marcus Stroman have all had issues of some sort over the past couple seasons and only Stroman has even approaches Cole-level success, let alone sustained it. Worse, there’s little depth behind those. Clayton Beeter is the likely step-in at the back, but the drop off there could be massive and Beeter would need to be extended in a long absence. Will Warren is the team’s top pitching prospect, and he may need to step in quicker than expected if the news on Cole comes back negative.

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