Where there is smoke, there is fire, and the Yankees could soon find their season up in flames.
As Gerrit Cole awaits his MRI results on his right elbow, general manager Brian Cashman seemingly is bracing for impact.
“[I’m] prepared for the worst,” Cashman told Newsday. “We will see how it plays out. I’m always wired to think the worst and hope for the best. Obviously not what you want, but it’s ultimately part of our journey here in 2025.”
The Yankees felt something was off after recovering from his second spring outing on March 6 against the Detroit Tigers where he allowed six runs over 2.2 innings.
“In the game there was a lot of good stuff happening the other day, but as I got home I just continued to get more and more sore. Something wasn’t right,” said Cole.
The 34-year-old tried to avoid another spring injury by beginning his offseason throwing program earlier than he did last season when he missed nearly half of the season due to an elbow injury.
The Yanks felt confident with Cole’s plan entering spring.
“I’ve been getting after it since November,” said Cole on Saturday. “The organization and I came up with this plan to mitigate the risks, and I executed it.”
“He kind of didn’t put the ball down this year, which you’re seeing more and more [across baseball],” Aaron Boone said early in camp. “We’ve tapped into that the last few years, keeping guys’ arms moving in some way, shape or form.”
What Cashman mean’s by “the worst” is Tommy John surgery which would put Cole out for the entire 2025 season and part of 2026. A Bombers club that was built around pitching and defense — due to the departure of Juan Soto — could take another major blow with wrecking ball potential on their upcoming season before it even starts.
“There’s no way to sugar coat it — he’s a top of the league guy and has been an ace in this league for a long, long time,” Schmidt said of Cole to MLB.com. “He’ll be missed if it’s something longer-term. Regardless, I think we’ve got to pick him up as a staff. I know we did a pretty good job of that in the first half last year when he was gone, and I think we’re very well capable of doing that again.”
Cole joins Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Gil as the most notable names to fall with injury as this horror edition of spring training for the pinstripes seemingly gets worse by the day — and the Bombers are unsure when or if they’ll get any of the three back.
If the 2023 Cy Young award winner is truly down, then newly signed Max Fried will likely get the ball on Opening Day with a new job description as the ace of the New York Yankees for the foreseeable future.