The New York Yankees received some horrible news Wednesday morning. Spring training has not been very kind to them. Some star players like Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge have been out due to injury. The Yankees ace will miss the start of the season due to his elbow and will seek to see a surgeon according to Jon Heyman.
He’ll be sidelined for at least a month and he’s set to meet with steemed sports surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache. The initial scans didn’t reveal a tear in his UCL, however, ElAttrache suggested he be seen in person according to Mark W. Sanchez and Heyman. Due to the swelling and inflammation, a tear could have been missed. ElAttrache is planning to Cole under further testing.
The 2023 Cy Young Award winner threw 39 pitches across two innings on March 1 and appeared in a game since. His durability has one of his strongest traits. The only injury that Gerrit Cole has suffered before was a minor hamstring ailment prior to signing his big contract with the Yankees.
“All of the strength testing they do has been good,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters Monday. “His stuff and his command has been really good in his outings. He’s just having a hard time getting that fifth or sixth day. He’s not recovering like he’s accustomed to.”
If it turns that Cole has to miss an extended period of time, it could be devastating. The Yankees are aiming to make the playoffs in 2024 after finishing last season with an 82-80 record. They also have a lot of pitching depth after trading some of their top pitching prospects in exchange for Juan Soto.
They signed Marcus Stroman this offseason. It’s likely that they could still sign Blake Snell as well as make a trade for Dylan Cease. Don’t be surprised if the Yankees make move by the end of the week. It sounds like they are starting to push pretty hard to add one of the two.
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