The Yankees have announced that ace Gerrit Cole will undergo Tommy John surgery on Tuesday. Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the procedure. The team will provide further updates following the surgery, but there is no doubt that the 2023 AL Cy Young winner will miss the entire 2025 season.
Cole, 34, went for diagnostic tests on his elbow last week. He told reporters he was “concerned” by the results of the initial testing but expressed some hope that a second opinion could assuage the worst of his concerns. Unfortunately, Cole’s appointment today with Dr. ElAttrache only confirmed that the right-hander needs Tommy John to repair a torn UCL in his pitching arm.
This is a crushing blow to the reigning AL champions. The typical recovery timeline for Tommy John surgery is roughly 12-18 months. New York survived without Cole for just under three months last season when elbow inflammation kept him out until mid-June. This year, the Yankees will have to get by without their number one starter at all. They must be glad they won the bidding war to sign Max Fried this offseason, inking the two-time All-Star to an eight-year, $218MM deal. The southpaw will now lead a rotation that also features Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt. Rounding out the starting five to begin the year will likely be Marcus Stroman (whom the Yankees are surely glad they didn’t trade earlier this offseason) and top pitching prospect Will Warren. Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil, will miss the beginning of the year with a lat strain but will hopefully return sometime in June. Non-roster invitee Carlos Carrasco is another arm who could offer rotation depth.
That group of arms could still make up a perfectly capable starting rotation for a contending club, but the error bars are much wider now, and there is no question the Yankees are a much less dangerous World Series contender without Cole. It doesn’t help that they’re also dealing with injury issues on the other side of the ball. Veteran bats Giancarlo Stanton (elbows) and DJ LeMahieu (calf) are likely to miss the beginning of the season.
Presumably, the Yankees will consider their options to upgrade their rotation externally. Available free agents include Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, and Spencer Turnbull, although none of those names offer anything close to the star power the Yankees lost. Thus, if GM Brian Cashman wants to find a top-of-the-rotation replacement for Cole, he’ll have to turn to the trade market. Some of the most interesting potential trade candidates include Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins, Luis Castillo of the Mariners, and Dylan Cease and Michael King of the Padres. The most recent reporting on all of those pitchers suggests that an offseason trade is unlikely, but a desperate Yankees team could certainly change that.
The Yankees had a chance to part ways with the six-time All-Star this offseason when Cole triggered his opt-out clause in November. The team could have blocked his opt-out by adding another year and $36MM to the end of his contract, which they chose not to do. However, the two sides ultimately agreed to stick together as if Cole had never triggered his opt-out in the first place, with the Yankees keeping him around for the four years and $144MM remaining on his original guaranteed deal. In other words, while the Yankees may have had their concerns about Cole’s longevity, they could not have been overly worried that his elbow troubles would rear their ugly head again so soon.
From 2017-22, Cole led all pitchers with 173 starts and 1070 2/3 innings pitched. He dealt with some elbow inflammation in 2016, but from then until 2024, his only IL stint was due to COVID-19 protocols. In an age of ever-increasing arm injuries and ever-decreasing inning counts, Cole has been a workhorse, topping 200 innings in a season six times in the last ten years. Sadly, his run of healthy seasons came to an end last year, and this coming season will be the first since 2012 in which Cole does not pitch. Instead, he will turn his focus toward his rehab in an effort to miss as little of the 2026 campaign as possible.
Image courtesy of Imagn.
And the thunder rolls
Oh, and the thunder rolls
Thunder rolls
And the lightnin’ strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
🙁
I Am The Walrus Goo Goo Ga Joob
ISOB,
Every time I hear a walrus reference I now think of that disturbing movie “Tusk”
That’s the name of a Fleetwood Mac album too ! It’s Classic Rock Monday on MLBTR
I think of the Pirate ship in the splendid series, “Black Sails”. Ship took a pounding but always came back for more
“DJ SOB” over here 🙂
Say hello to Mrs. MuyBueno for me
The ignorant one forgets that Garth Brooks is an Okie who had a cup of coffee in spring training with the Mets when they were actually good.
I informed you thusly.
Garth spent a spring training with different teams including the Padres.
youtu.be/7wPDOq_dhcg?si=PhAif-FZtNK1IJxJ
She advised me to have you remember the essentials, chiefs: Stay in school, say no to drugs, eat your vegetables. And work on your Spanish homework
DONNIE YOU’RE OUT OF YOUR ELEMENT!
I’m talking about drawing a line in the sand YOU DO NOT… also, Dude, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please…
I always heartwarming to see trolls I don’t remember (because I muted them a long time ago) getting blasted.
Really the best of both worlds. 🙂
Goob,
Monday Miracles
🙂
🙂
🙂
Marcus Stroman is BMOC
Chris Gaines never misses
As expected, it will be funny if the Yankees win the AL East though.
Even funnier if they don’t even go .500.
Naah, I see the Mets more likely to end up at .500 when all is said and done.
Yes I agree the Mets slugging percentage might be around .500.
Ha..! can’t wait till July , Mets floundering and the Mets fans contemplating leaping off the Whitestone bridge.
Yankee fans are already jumping off the bridge.
no way dude.. Yanks still have a good rotation and bullpen, the front office will react.
What are they going to do? Bring in another fading has been? Your bullpen besides Williams isn’t that good and your rotation besides Fried is average.
doubt it. Theres a bridge congestion tax.
Mets – In the 75 games before Cole returned last year, the Yankees had a 3.01 ERA.
There’s a reason why they are still the favorites to win the AL pennant.
Can Soto catch or pitch? Asking for a friend.
Can Judge catch or pitch? Same friend wants to know?
Thats going to be a tall order with no Cole or Gil and holes you could drive a truck through at DH and either 3B/2B depending on which position Jazz is playing. They don’t even really have a backup Catcher. This is a strange look for a Yankees team coming off of an AL pennant
The most disappointed player in the league now has got to be Raffy Devers who loses at least 5 Homers and 15 RBI’s and 10 points off his average now that Cole is out for the year.
See you the second half of 2026, Mr. Cole.
Bye Yankees!
Classy.
Bye Joey!
Ok Joey.
“Bye Yankees”…I’m not exactly a Yankees fan, but they did weather the guy missing half of last season and wound up in the World Series. I wouldn’t write them off just yet.
This and the Dodgers won the World Series using 42 pitchers in the course of the season.
Boston now the favorites in the AL?
I’m not sure I see that exactly, but it’ll definitely be more interesting now.
O’s prolly.
I’m buying Royals stock though.
That’s probably the only stock that actually went up today.
swing – Yeah Cohen lost so much yesterday he may be cancelling Edwin Diaz Bobblehead Day.
Baltimore, Sox, then NY.
The Orioles pitching is thin. The East is wide open.
@mariner
what pitching does Baltimore have again?
Rodriguez should be back before in a few weeks after the start of the season. Eflin, Sugano, and Morton are better 4 and somewhat more reliabe than Fried(coming off injury), Rodon, Stroman and Schmidt.
O’s probably the favorites to begin with.
They should be but haven’t shown it. Pitching is very questionable
Give them a couple of years to let the kids grow and get experience. They remind me of a better version of the Royals back in 2014-15.
Red should def be the favorites even if 1 of there prospects works out they should be set the only thing is their bullpen/SP kind of iffy but almost everyone else in the AL East SP are too now.
Ummm jays SP are currently all going great *knock on wood
Yep I know but that’s why I said almost everyone else. BJ’s have a solid rotation but 3/5th are gonna be 34+ of age and 4 of 5 will be 31+ so either regression or injuries are probably to be expected.
@ReyDay Don’t bet the farm on the Reds
Their biggest issue with being favorites in AL East is that they play in a different division in the NL.
@Tigers didn’t realize it was that proper and formal in here. I’m sure normal rational people can put 2 and 2 together to figure out it’s RedSox not Reds.
Well when one team is named simply the “Reds” it’s probably best not to refer to other teams in short as such.
@Tigers – I’ll be sure to remember that for next time, thanks Officer! Am I free to go?
Yankees were the heavy favorites to win the AL Pennant at +300
Orioles were at +600
Red Sox at +800
Will see where they are tomorrow.
O’s, Jays, Bosox, NYY, Rays
“Boston now”…Nope. The Yankees are still the favorites in my opinion. Boston will likely have their own share of injuries before it’s all been said and done.
Yeah the Yanks demise is too premature. It’s still a good rotation and lineup and the best bullpen.
if the kids step up the lineup could be good but there are a lot of scenarios that would result in a seriously meh offense (kids not ready for prime time, goldschmidt cooked, jazz injured etc)
“and the best bullpen”
in the AL perhaps.
We’re talking specifically ALE, but it’s arguable either way.
Besides Williams who are you really excited about coming out of that bullpen?
good rotation questionable we right now….too many “IFS”….And n order for the best bullpen to be effective is they got to be winning to get to them…..and to get to that bullpen, need a good rotation…..the dynamics work
Weaver, Cruz throws fire, the usual nondescript gang of dogooders, and tbh since when is the NYY bullpen not good??? That’s always been a staple of our team for as long as I’ve been a fan.
Let’s not forget Fried is basically an ace, Rodon has it in him to be great (admittely an If), Schmidt is very good, and Stroman, who I’m not a fan of, but isn’t a bad pitcher, as no. 4/5 is totally fine. How’s the rest of ALE stack up in that area? None are definatively better.
Weaver has a career ERA of almost 5. He had a career year. Will he duplicate it? Probably not. The Yankees have had great bullpens but just about everyone is gone now.
Bro, we got arguably the best reliever in the game in Williams, I believe Weaver who was also good for us in 23 when we got him off the heap, and Cruz again is unharnessed power. The bullpen has been Matt Blake’s strong suit. He’s worked magic there. I have no reason not to believe in it. Who’s gone right now??? Clay Holmes? (Another Blake project btw) We’ve replaced him ten fold, lol.
I guess you haven’t seen how dominant Holmes looks right now. You also lost Kahnle and Tonkin. 100% agree if you get to Williams you probably have a W. The problem is you traded for him with a more valuable starter that you really need right now.
No one can predict the future, friend, though I’d trade Cortes today for Williams given that opportunity again lol.
Holmes is not a reliever now so it’s a moot point, much luck to him.
We got Losaiga back, and I’m a fan of Cruz, very exciting pitcher, so I feel overall we’re upgraded for last year, and there’s always someone new that seems to step in Blake’s BPs. Still have Hamilton, Leiter, Hill, etc. Again just a solid group.
How dominant Holmes has looked?? It’s spring training. Half of the players he is facing won’t be on ML rosters come opening day. And they haven’t let him throw beyond 3+ innings yet. Let’s see when he actually makes a legit start or is in a pressure situation.
Delusional Mets fans in spring training are extra loud this year. It’s gonna be fun watching the implosion.
He has a career 1.35 ERA for the Yankees in the postseason. It’s funny how Yankee fans say their pitchers are garbage when someone leaves and all of a sudden they can’t pitching pressure situations. You do realize there is more to spring training than just stats. He developed a changeup that drops 18” that is lights out.
Where did I say our pitchers are garbage when they leave? Not sure which pitcher you are speaking of though, but again, I like what we got now. Not a knock on what we had, I’m just confident in the Yankees pen. The history is there to back it up.
Well with Crochet as a potential injury in the making and given that he’s mandated that either he has a new contract by end of Spring or he’s going free agent….not sure I”d be bragging right now…. but certainly this opens up the AL EAST….you never have enough pitching do you…..
Yikes, look at rocky7 having no idea that Crochet has two years of control left and only set his extension deadline for THIS year (claiming to not want distractions in season).
LOL… Rocky 7 talkin out of your arsz now, not having a clue what you are saying.
Yo rocky that cole extention lookin alot like the extebtion the gave sale yankee fans laughed about…lol not so funny now huh
It’s not like Max Fried sucks
No but Max has spent time on the IL twice the last two seasons with forearm issues
It’s not like he doesn’t have his own extensive history of (minor) injuries
They all do. It’s the way of the world now. You build as much depth as possible and hope for the best.
But those blisters…
the way crochet is throwing i would say yes
As long as he sticks to his knitting.
Boston generally ranked as best MiLB depth talent and organizational depth. Followed by TB then O’s.
prospects will break your heart but as of now there’s no better trio than campbell, anthony and mayer
Boston sure. They have the better rotation and lineup over Balt, though latter has the dynamic duo back to close out the game. Yanks still have some highly paid SPs and Judge to win.
Better lineup? Orioles keep plugging positions with star prospects who should only be better going into this year.
Matter of neutral opinion, but yes. Would take the combo of offense this year with Devers/Bregman/Story back healthy and a strong defensive OF. Some of Balt vaunted prospects may take strides to help Gunnar/Westburg/Adley…..or teams might pitch them like what has shut them down in playoff sweeps to force adjustments. Other factor is Boston has 3 high end position player prospects some of whom may be better than Holliday or mightily struggling Mayo.
Padam- O’s would be wise to now crack a prospect or two and go get a front line starter. They’re around the last turn and should be able to see home at this point. If they don’t. They’re valuing pure $ over a winning product.
Orioles and Yanks are pretty close. Red Sox are real close top. It’ll be interesting as it sits. I don’t think they’ll let this sit too long.
Angels are hands on favorites to have the best record. In 2014
I think the Yankees are still probably a better team with all the injuries to be honest than the Sox. What we may also see at some point is how many injuries the Sox are able to rack up with a roster full of broken toys and finger crosses. This opens the window for the O’s a bit, but they really need to go get an impact pitcher if they can muster a deal still or they are going to get pounded and burn that pen to the ground eventually.
william – As of right now the Yanks are still the favorites with the O’s next and the Sox 3rd.
Not sure how much Vegas factors in injury risks, but if the Sox can just stay healthy I like their chances even with all the turmoil, chaos and Cora’s lousy managing.
This season is entirely based on health. If we stay healthy and other teams do not, we have a chance of being a playoff team, albeit with some significant flaws.
william – I also think this year if they are still contending end of July, they will FINALLY make some impactful trade deadline moves. I don’t see them punting again with the threshold-level payroll. I think they finally got the message (from their financials) that they need to make the postseason this year.
We can only hope
william – So now Cora is saying Campbell will stay at 2B the remainder of ST.
Finally they are learning, he’s just a kid …. let him focus on one position for now, his hitting will improve because of it.
Man I really hope Giolito is okay, I was looking forward to seeing what he can do.
As for Devers …. now he won’t play until Saturday the earliest? I don’t buy the angle of this being 100% health related. He could at least be DH’ng by now.
The versatility angle with the Red Sox for years has been tiresome to listen to. If a guy is great at his position he would stick there, or at the least, you would think you would keep them there. To me using the term versatility with a starting lineup of players is a way of saying they are mediocre nearly anywhere. If they were great you would be talking about penciling them in at their true position everyday day. If they want Campbell to have a better chance of success, play him to his strengths. I expected very little from a healthy Giolito before he was hurt, and less now. He can only pleasantly surprise me if he pitches very well.
I don’t know what to make of Devers. I know I wouldn’t make him a 3rd baseman though, or a 1st baseman. He stinks. Burn his glove. The Yoshida DH albatross is complicating things.
william – I fully expect Yoshida to go on the IL because of his surgery-related arm injury and then he’ll have time to rehab in Woosta. In fact I think that’s a big reason why Cora mentioned wanting Yoshida to play LF, it provides an excuse to IL him. Otherwise he’s healthy enough to DH.
I would be shocked if Bregman doesn’t play 3B, he still hasn’t played an inning at 2B and there’s only two weeks left of ST.
The uncertainty with Devers makes Yoshida even safer. If Devers demands a trade or DH’s as poorly as Jose Ramirez last year, the Sox may need Yoshida at DH. The last thing they want is to dump Yoshida and then Devers gets moved off the team or onto the IL.
I think Devers is nearly impossible to trade. He adds nothing defensively. On 29 other teams he is a defensive downgrade. The contract doesn’t translate for a bat only DH type these days. So, even if he demands a trade for being moved off third, they would have to eat a terrible contract in return with very little high end prospects also. The DH scenario is the best option, but forces Yoshida’s bad and nearly impossible to trade contract to also be even more of an issue, and it was already a pretty bad issue. He adds nothing defensively as well. Let us not forget Breg on third means a blackhole at second for yet another year. Grissom/Hamilton I guess and crossed fingers they are league average bats and league average defensively.
From W.S. contender to 3rd place finish. ouch.
In the East? Doubtful, still a good rotation and lineup and the best pen.
“3rd place finish”…Who’s really any good in the American League right now? Cleveland? The 2017 Astros?
Personally, unless they suffer yet another injury, I still consider the Yankees the favorites for the A.L pennant. I can’t think of an A.L team(right now) I’d bet over them.
Cole is big but he’s only one pitcher
And he has Marcus stroman behind him this is stromans perfect opportunity to shock the world
“Stromans perfect..shock the world”…Or Rodon’s or Fried’s.
Tough news for Lakers and Cowboys fans.
lol
Mike Lupica says hi.
Ouch. Sorry Yanks fans. A rematch might have been fun this year. Looks less likely now.
Oh really….your entire pitching staff was on the IL last year and kudos that the Dodgers weathered that storm but Karma has a way of biting you in the ass.
Oy veh. 🙁
2025 Yankees are toast.
Don’t see it quite yet.
You really think so?
This sucks but last year they didn’t have him for a few months and they were fine. They added Fried so that should help a bit. Stroman becomes key now. Hopefully they add another back-end starter as Stroman is known to fade as the season goes on and Gil should be back by All-Star break.
Don’t let anything distract you from the fact that I scored four touchdowns in a single game….
If they don’t add the best available starter, they’re fools. That they didn’t do so when Gil was hurt was already a problem.
They should also be looking at the trade market given the paucity of good SPs left in free agency.
How about a TOP LINE STARTER ???? As Salzilla said…..YOU’RE THE GODDAMN YANKEES
Sylvester Stallone’s brother in law is supposed to be the best.
Or would you mean Frank Stallone?
Definitely think Yankees and Padres pick up Cease talks and get a deal done before ST is over.
Yankees don’t have anything Padres want.
Are you the Padres?
Yankees’ system is mediocre so…
Sure they do
Spencer Jones, Ben Hess, Henry LaLane, Cam Schlitter, Rafael Flores
In order of importance
Rafael Flores who is a very toolsy C/1B prospect
Ben Hess 6’5″ looks like a TOR whos couple years away
Henry LaLane a 6’7″ lefty
Spencer Jones OF prospect
Cam Schlitter towering starting pitcher prospect at 6’6″
I wouldn’t trade Cease for anything less than Schmidt +. If the Yankees are that desperate, then sure.
Not one of them is a MLB top-100 prospect atm.
Bring San Diego Fleet to the :
And where are those prospects ranked in baseball? They are the Yankees best prospects, but comparatively speaking there are so many systems in baseball that have so many better prospects than what the Yankees have right now.
Jasson Dominguez?
Spencer Jones
Ben Hess
Henry Lalane
Cam Schlitter
Rafael Flores
None of these guys help this year. Preller trades for today. Not a few years down the road. His contract is coming up.
Jones, Schlitter could be up this year so to say they wont help this year isnt true esp if LF becomes a black hole in the lineup Jones becomes another option, a cheap long term one.
Like I said. Preller trades his prospects. He does not acquire another teams hopefuls. Jones btw is way overrated.
The Marlins are more apt to make a deal for prospects with Alcantara. They are in full rebuild.
Bring San Diego Fleet to the NFL:
You realize none of these guys are top 100 prospects right? They’re just the best of what the Yankees have. Many other teams have much better prospects.
Cards might take some that mediocre stuff for Fedde.
DanFan:
That’s possible, but I don’t think he’s much of a needle mover.
They already took the Yankees good stuff. No one is gifting Cease to the yankees and the padres look like a playoff team
King wasn’t a prospect and Thorpe was the only really good one in the Soto deal. The other guys were filler. Cease would cost less.
Salzilla:
But if Cease is really available, there are other teams that can use him that can put together much better packages than the Yankees. Desperation does not make the Yankees prospects more attractive.
Willingness to trade them does. See the difference to a team that WANTS to trade a player like Cease? Again, look at what we traded for JUAN SOTO. It was essentially King and Thorpe and a bag of balls.
Salzilla:
You think the Yankees will be the only team willing? Ok. If you think that teams won’t lining up for those pitchers, I think you’re wrong.
I’m not saying that, however from all accounts, teams have already rejected what SD wanted for Cease. The price will come down, if it hasn’t already.
Also to note here, because I did in another thread recently, I don’t necessarily want to buy on Cease as I think we can get Gibson or Montgomery for a heck of a lot cheaper, be it money or prospects. I’d rather fill in from the back end than the front. Fried is good enough to head up our rotation.
Salzilla:
I get what you’re saying, but if the price comes down, I still don’t see the Yankees as being a favorite to land these pitchers like Cease when they come from a position of weakness. They have a bottom third farm system right now. If I’m a team, why am I trading with the team that has worse prospects? I just don’t think the Yankees being desperate makes their prospects become anymore attractive. I agree with you about a guy like Montgomery. He’s a good bounce back candidate. It becomes again about the Yankees being willing to spend some money because the whole motivation of getting Montgomery is the diamondbacks wanting to dump his salary or most of it. If the Yankees are willing to spend then that makes sense to me since it’s not about prospects, but about salary relief for the diamondbacks.
Well that sucks. Sorry, Yankees fans. Sometimes enjoyed watching Cole in the postseason (for the Astros being the exclusion, though I did enjoy him not pitching in that Game 7), and any rematch with the Dodgers would be lessened by his absence.
It was game 5… 5th inning… 5 unearned runs…
Game 7 for the Trashtros. When they didn’t bring him in.
Get the popcorn ready! I’m going to enjoy this 3-way title race between Baltimore, Boston, and New York! (Toronto could be a sneaky good team this year. So are the Rays)
Now they have to rely on oft-inured Fried.
Another good pitcher down, tough break for Cole, the Yankess, and baseball fans.
its tough for us yankee fans.but i do not think the fans from the other 29 teams could care less.
I care I am not a Yankee fan, but I am a baseball fan who believes the game is better with the best players not injured. I also enjoy watching Cole pitch.
Same age as when DeGrom had his? Scherzer?
You know Scherzer used to be a Yankee? Traded to Detroit OTD 15 years ago as part of a 3-way deal that brought Curtis Granderson to The Bronx.
Lol Chucky what is wrong with you man
Only in MLB where your season can go down the drain during the pre-season
Welcome to 4th place Yankees fans!
Looks like Stroman really is a starter after all.
BRIAN CASHMAN LET HIM COME BACK FOR $144,000,000.00 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAJAHAHAJAHAJHAJAHAHAJAJAJAJAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA LMFAO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAJAJAJAJAHAJJAHAHAJAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA GET THAT MAN INTO WITNESS PROTECTION
Welfare check needed on this commenter.
I have a sneaky suspicion that iPad gets plenty of Welfare checks.
Gwynning
Yep bought my TR Subscription with Food Stamps
I was wrong, I figured Tim accepted EBT thru PayPal!
🙂
WTF “HAJAJAHAJJA”
The least you could do is keep a steady index finger like when you are digging in your rear for a thought.
First aid: Tranquilizer dart to the neck.
Absolute disaster. It was always the height of glass half full to think Goldschmidt and Bellinger can provide necessary offense at this stage – despite the laughable spin of homers like Kay and the WFAN dopes. Now their staff is also reliant on guys with their own injury histories. Expect Cashman to act
More Cash to the salary IL this year. YESSS
One man does not make or break a team, especially a team with the payroll of the Yanks. Next man up.
One man’s next man up is another man’s inadequate replace-man.
Terrible to hear.
Shouldn’t $45m/year pitchers get their arms checked during the offseason? Seems like maybe they could have saved a few months if they scanned him before he even threw
Might have torn it in the spring training outings.
probably happened in the ramp up.
Maybe going into the season with at least 7 legit rotation pieces is the new wave? Tho you cannot outwit the baseball Gods.
The smart teams are already doing this. Yankees included
It might be more then 7.
Yep. Look out west.
Get well soon, Gerrit!
When Cole opted out a few months ago they should have let him go. Always been borderline ace to me
@joes-6 You’ve always been a borderline commenter to me, joe. Cole on the other hand…:
2018-2023, 3.04 FIP, 2.93 ERA, 146 ERA+
Per 9: 11.9 K, 2.2 BB, 1.2 HR, 6.7 H, 0.992 WHIP
GS: 32, 33, 12, 30, 33, 33
Cy voting: 5th, 2nd, 4th, 2nd, 9th, 1st. .
29.7 bWAR in 5.37 seasons.
Well, crap. That sucks.
In its way, to be sure, but it’s a logical consequence of Cashman’s chronically poor management and undervaluation of starting pitching, and his refusal to understand the aging curve.
Most projection systems had Cortes having a slightly better 2025 than Cole—and those that didn’t had them very even. With a glut of closers on the market, Cashman decided to get a year of Devin Williams for his #2/3 starter, which necessitated forgiving Cole’s opt out and paying him 4/144 for his age 34-37 seasons after 95 innings in 2024.
The Yankees had uncertainty, age, and fragility up and down their rotation, but for at least three seasons Cashman has treated starting pitching as worth significantly less than its actual value. Dealing Jordan Montgomery for the injured Harrison Bader was just one of the more egregious examples.
As for his judgment more broadly, Cashman at the Deadline has dealt for 15 pitchers since 2000. Their average ERA with the Yankees was 5.29.
Any thoughts on signing Bauer? Desperate times call for desperate measures! Chapman and Ozuna got second chances! If we’re having “budget”
Issues, he’d probably come at the league minimum. Can’t waste another year of prime Judge!!
I’m a Cali Yankee fan too. Respectfully I believe there’s a silent agreement league wide that Bauer will never play in MLB again. Not making commentary on his situation, but I think if it were to happen, it would have happened already.
That market and its media presence would never allow it.
Bauer is already under contract overseas.
No.
Hang in there Yankees fans. As good as Cole is, one player does not doom your season.
That’s why you play 162……
YES Bivouac..it is true..one player does not doom a season….However in the case of Cole…..he is being replaced by Stroman!!!!!!!!!! Big differential in Wins and losses
Poor Raffy
Ouch! The Yankees now have nearly $100M in salaries for players who will not play in 2025. That’s more than some teams’ total payroll.
Exactly which players are you speaking of…….
This is the Yankees current IL list
Giancarlo Stanton
DJ LeMahieu
JT Brubaker
Gerrit Cole
Luis Gil
Jake Cousins
Scott Effross
Jonathan Loáisiga
Most of those will be back this season. Stanton and Cole are the only ones that probably won’t be.
This definitely isn’t good for the Yankees but they now need to hope that Max Fried’s forearm issues don’t become an issue this season
Happens to every good pitcher at least once in their career these days. As an Astros fan who loved watching him in 2018 and 2019, I hope he’s able to come back strong and solidify his case for the HOF 2026-29.
Terrible news, I always liked Cole even after he went to the Yankees. He was only a few good seasons away from a Hall of Fame career, hopefully he comes back strong and can still get there.
The Yankees should sign Kyle Gibson, they need an innings eater at this point. They’re in a very strong division and can’t afford to wait until the trade deadline
We will give them Dustin May for their top 3 prospects and cash.
How will Cashman blame the Astros for this?
Can Judge pitch too??
Scks to have one of the worst farm system in Baseball. I’m sure Sandy would be available, but who would they want in return? Lombard or Jones + Warren or Hess and Everson?
Yankees have to do something great…
Keep in mind Alcantara is fresh off TJ and costing the low budget Marlins 17 million this year (which is of course very reasonable IF he returns to ace level production). He is obviously their most valuable chip and they might be eager to cash it in for fear of another injury. Pitchers break
Yeah, why should they not trade him?! Marlins and Yankees have a rich history of being trade partners.
Sandy is coming to the Cubs. …. jed jusy laying in wait like a Jewish mamba……. he’s about the assemble the best cubs roster since Theo
Zach Greinke is available
or Lance Lynn
Kyle Gibson
It’s just sports, but the comment section here really doesn’t paint a positive picture of people.
Addiction is a coping mechanism, it ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.
Why is everyone writing off the New York Yankees?
They’ll just trade a surprisingly light return to a small market team for their best pitcher.
This is MLB.
Don’t know if the Yankees have the farm players to facilitate a trade for him but can’t imagine Sandy Alcantara is off limits. He’ll be costing the Marlins 17 million this year fresh off of TJ surgery. As the Marlins are probably not going to be competitive this year, perhaps some combo of Roderick Arias, Spencer Jones and maybe even Chase Hampton (with the knowledge he’s had TJ himself)? Keep in mind the Yankees drafted Clarke Schmidt with the knowledge he’d be out for a year. Guessing they will do everything to keep Lombard Jr. off limits.
Alcantara is controllable for 3/$55M. The Marlins could do much better than two hitters with tremendous hit tool question marks and a back-end starter who’ll have pitched 18 innings from 2024-2025.
There are few teams that can overcome such a significant blow. The Yankees are one of the few.
This could happen to any team
Bauer is still available
Untouchable !
Dylan Cease for Jasson Dominguez and Brock Selvidge. Final offer. Deal’s off the table in 24 hours.
Preller would want Schmidt added to that deal.
I guess you would be in the same situation in 24 hours.
Final offer: No deal
He only gave them 2 WAR last year so not a huge loss. Let’s hope the insurance is covering most of that.
Bahaha!
What? After I gave him the 2nd opinion that he should go on a long vacation? If he isn’t going to use the 2nd opinion, why did he seek one?
Don’t get all excited AL. I’m no Yankees fan but every pitcher is one strike away from it. The Yankees might have to go the trade route, but the farm has gotten a bit thinner lately.
I smell a Jordan Montgomery trade in the offing. Cole is scheduled to make $36MM this season. Most of the insurance contract teams take out on players cover 75% of their salaries while they’re injured. 75% of $36 MM is $27 MM. Montgomery is slated to earn $25 MM this year for Arizona, and they would love to dump that contract in its entirety. Yankees give up the proverbial bag of balls and take on the whole salary.
Montgomery is making $22.5M this year
you might as well ask the yankees to trade Cole for Montgomery
Insurance policy or not, you can double (actually 110% tax) that amount due Monty since IL money still hits the CBT. Is Monty worth $48MM this year on top of their $300MM current payroll? Or sign Kyle Gibson for a handful of shekels and double down that amount?? Which is more likely?
the money stays on the books,even if insurance pays.so the yankees,would be paying 45 million,to bring monty back.
Oof Yankees in a big hole to start the season with no Cole for the season and Gil down until at least mid June and maybe mid season.
Do they empty what remains in the bank for a run at Cease? They are going to have a tough time with Boston and Baltimore in the division. Could still make the wild card.
They let him opt back in!!
Choosing the path of Tanaka in ‘14 proved not to pan out a second time. Most Elbow injuries don’t just go away. I’m not saying that choosing surgery is the best option everytime however it usually ends up down that road. With the significant time a pitcher will miss especially an ace in Cole here he probably should have elected to have the surgery and they’d be expecting him back soon. Now they only got half of ‘24 out of him and will miss all of ‘25 and most likely some of ‘26. That’s like missing him for 2 full years. This is a huge blow but they do have enough pitching to get by regardless of what anyone thinks. They are in far better spots than a lot of teams. Like every other team when this occurs, it’s next man up.
They shoulda done it a yr ago he woulda been healthy now but soto was only around 1 yr i get it they had to go for it, & he probly wanted to play thru the pain
Didn’t the Yankees have a chance to walk away from the rest of his deal when he opted out?
And this is why I said it was a no-brainer not to trade Stroman.
there is obviously something wrong with todays pitchers. how many guys have gone down with tommy john this spring like 10??!!
Is Paul Skenes going to join Gerrit Cole with that cutter.
Cole increased his cutter usage in 2024 from 2023.
Skenes absolutely doesn’t need it to be elite. There is zero risk if Skenes doesn’t throw it.
Me Joining this Comment Section An Hour + Late to the Party as Dwight Schrute: running into work after discovering it really was a Friday:
I’m here! I’m here! I’m here. It’s okay!
Whew, now that I’m here….
This was inevitable. This was predictable. The fact that Cole opted out and then both sides pretended that that never happened and then this immediately happens… karma/the universe working in mysterious ways– I am sure the Yankees suddenly wish Cole was in Year 1 of a 5 year/$185M deal with Boston or somewhere like that and I am sure Cole is incredibly grateful he got a mulligan on that opt out…
Gerrit Cole never needed the cutter pitch. The Slider is the pitch that made him. Throwing high fastballs and breaking balls away only works with a certain slider, nothing else.
Yankees should sign Bauer to replace him lol
Yes yes yes I second that I third that and I fourth that
You should put down the crack pipe on both of your accounts.
Both accounts? I comment once a month. Time for you to do something with your life kid.
You comment once a month on both accounts? Time for you to not be so obvious, son.
No one should feel sorry for the Yankees. Feel sorry for small market clubs when THEY lose a player, and can’t afford to just plaster dollar bills over the loss.
Alot of small market teams pocket the money they get from the luxury tax. Instead of building a team with it Some teams get 50 million and the team salary goes down.when there team salary should go up by 50 million.Dont feel sorry for any of them,,all MLB teams are making money hand over foot.
Wonder if they are going to make a big move after this. It’d be almost guaranteed back when George was around, not so sure with Hal.
People forget the Bombers yo-yo’d between good and bad before Joe Torre became the Yankee manager.
Most people on here aren’t old enough to remember how bad they were during the 80s
I remember. “Die-hard” Yankee fans stayed home in droves. Attending a baseball game at Yankee Stadium was the easiest ticket in town. Plenty of good seats available.
I remember the Horace Clarke years.
I got Horace Clarke’s autograph outside Yankee Stadium after a Yankees-RedSox game in September 1968.
Yankees won more games in the 80s than any other team in baseball.
Nice. No White, Pepitone or Stottelmyre?
Trevor Bauer
NOT A YANKEE!
*clap-clap, clap clap clap*
NOT A YANKEE!
*clap-clap, clap clap clap*
NOT A YANKEE!
*clap-clap, clap clap clap*
Guy’s almost 40. Give it up already
It’s too bad he’s not the same age as Cole.
And look where Cole is now…
Except Bauer’s not getting Tommy John.
But he has a load of issues and hasn’t pitched in the Majors for awhile. And he really only had one good season, which wasn’t even full. There’s little comparison. Bauer is by no means an ace at all.
I don’t see anyone getting in line to sign him. It’s been three or four years, no one wants him and I don’t blame them.
27 other teams dodged a bullet by yankees exercising their option on Cole.
They technically didn’t exercise an option. This was a genuinely unique and bizarre situation where Cole opted out, Yankees refused to add any years or dollars to his old contract, he agreed to come back on the old deal, with both sides effectively ignoring the opt out, pretending it didn’t happen.
Now- they certainly didn’t play too hard of ball and take the opportunity to simply walk away, thus owing Cole zero dollars over zero years going forward, but they certainly did not exercise an option, either.
frick or frack, Cole wasn’t a free agent to land on the mets or dodger IL.
All the good teams in the NL now, a nice change of pace.
Too bad. Get well soon.
Who was surprised?
It’s gotten to the point where not only am I not surprised when pitchers have to go under the knife, I actually expect it to happen every 3-5 years.
We all knew this was coming. Why in the heck did he wait until the last minute !!?? The team could have planned ahead much better.
Ok.. so not for nothing but 1st off I would have resigned Gerrit Cole this off-season but my question is did the Yankees not review his medicals? How does a guy miss 3 months last year due to a elbow issue then resign for over 100 million and require TJ 4 months or so after signing?
the yankees didnt resign him,He pulled the opt-out back
Should’ve let him walk away when he opted out. Any pitcher at 34 is on borrowed time
Department of Pitching Efficiency hard at work.
Dope post, hayzee.
Steve Matz is available…
See you in 2027.
Cole is Still and always be out # 1 Ace on or off the mound. hopefully you will be back on the mound before the all-star break 2026 and wearing some new Jewlery GWS…
Zero surprise
As much as I hate to say it, Spencer Turnbull is a perfect fit for the Yankees. He hates the minors. He wants to be wanted. Pitching under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium will actually incentivize him. He’s kind of lazy unless he’s in the spotlight. If things go south on him, he gets the punies and goes on the DL, but in New York, he’ll actually try.
Hopefully, he doesn’t disappoint Scott Boras by spitting the bit again.
Turnbull is a prima donna. He’ll fit right in, in the Bronx.
Ouch! What is even worse is that the Yankees only have one prospect that could legitimately headline a deal for a starting pitcher and they are counting on him to hold down LF. Going to be a long year in the Bronx.
Best of luck! A class individual. May you come back in top shape.
Best wishes on your recovery, Mr. Cole.
With Cole going 8-5 after a late start last season he really was not the determining factor in the outcome and they still managed a solid season and they have the ability to do it again.
Unreal how many morons are on here laughing that the Yankees “brought him back”. Like letting go of a top 5 MLB starter was ever going to happen. Do some of you even watch baseball?
Don’t worry, he can wipe his tears with the millions of dollars that hes making for sitting on his couch and eating potato chips
There’s no crying in baseball!!
Knew this was going to happen at some point. Before he signed that big mega deal, he was pitching 250 innings a season. It was going to happen eventually, I hate to say it.
Damn this will save me money no mlb league pass for me if I can’t watch cole pitch
The BoSox division to lose and they wold have been right there even before this injury. 92-93 wins. Orioles filled with unrealized promise mated with indifferent ownership/management. Maybe good for 88-90 games. Tampa tied with Baltimore and in the running for the last wc till the last game or two…87-88 wins. Yanks and BJ’s both rolling in with 85-86 dubs.
You Sox fans are cracking us up with your predictions of winning the division….while anything can happen in baseball, the odds are that if the Yankees falter, the O’s are probably the best team in the division and will win it with their overall PROVEN talent…..the Red Sox predictions you make are full of maybe’s, possibly’s, can do’s and hopefully’s……like most teams, good offense (primarily at FenWay) suspect pitching (lots of injury concerns like all teams) and a suspect bullpen (yes do you really want to count on a former Yankee when the game is on the line.)……but, its Spring and hope for a great season is in the air……
what did Cole know and when did he know it?
what?
Between the Stanton and Cole injuries rehab, communication, proactivity, great offseason work by the Yanks…this went well.
Can DJL pitch? He can’t field or hit so might as well get something out of him.
That allowing him to go back and pretend he didn’t trigger his opt out is looking like a terrible decision for the Yankees and a stroke of genius for Cole. He had to know his elbow was on the brink of falling apart. And surely they knew also after the beginning of last year. Tough pill to swallow
Maybe not on Cole knowing and hiding it. Cole took the risk of being a FA, aware that he’d have new medicals and have to pass them–without the backstop of $144M. I think this was bad luck. I do wonder about the pain levels that pitchers must feel (and accept as normal).
The Yankees will just call up Sandy Alcantara from their farm team, the Marlins.
So Cashman brought him back for 4 years/144 mil. It looks like that is going to be more like 2.5 years/144 mil. Too bad he didn’t let him walk. He could’ve signed Burnes instead. Imagine if Yankees let Cole walk igniting fan backlash to an unimaginable level only to sign Burnes to limit the flogging. Then as tempers are starting to drop because of Burnes signing, Cole gets injured on his new team (probably Mets), and Cashman is a god. But nope. That didn’t happen. Cole opting out was your lifeline that was not taken.
Don’t you look smart after the fact.
Yes, these armchair GM’s really make lots of comical comments after the fact….and by the way, Burnes has seen decreasing effectiveness over the past couple of seasons which is probably why the O’s declined to sign him to a long term deal……
And when the Yankees stumble out of the gates and they’re just barely over .500 2 months in, don’t point the finger at Boone. Blame it on the face they lost Soto and now Cole to injury. 2 of their best players outside of judge
Well Mr Pony….they were outbid for Soto who was going to get every last dime in free agency and if the Yankees did re-sign him, they would’t have been able to improve the areas of the team that they have…..if they sign Soto, no Fried or closer……as far as the Cole injury….exactly how many pitchers did the Dodgers lose during last season and they still were able to win the WS….so my point is that teams win with 40+man rosters and depend on bringing up players to plug holes…as one guy falters, another emerges….yet to be seen but Yankee fans view this as a bump in the road not a crater as you describe it……
The next question is when are Rodon and Fried getting injured. It would be really sad if the Yankees end up with AAA pitching because of their usual sign the over 30, often injured players. Like craps, the Yankees seem to be rolling a 2, 3, or 12. known as “crapping out”.
Another expert weighing in trolling the Yankees……every team has pitching issues this Spring as you can read on this site each and every day….the Red Sox just lost Bello for the start of the season and are depending on Crochet who just last year was on a pitching limit due to his coming back from a significant injury….every team would love to have more pitching…..just goes to show, titles aren’t won on paper….you still have to play the games…..how ofter to you “crap out”?
Call the Phillies….
Well that pretty much seals the deal. Dodgers gonna win another world series this year.
Mariners are going to win the World Series!
They could trade Alcantara for a fringe prospect or two since we bailed them out of the Stanton contract.
Are you completely opposed to vowels?
The injuries will continue until the tariffs are lifted. Elbows up!
Hope he can get healthy and finish his career as strong as it started.