MRI Announced That The Yankee Are….
By all accounts, the early weeks of Yankee spring training produced a serenity now feeling filled with good vibes, centering around those who were injured last year feeling better and featured all sorts of awe for the new guy in Juan Soto.
Then the axis was shaken to its core shortly before lunchtime Monday when manager Aaron Boone was asked about Gerrit Cole’s next start. His answer did not give a day for the next start because the answer involved talking about his best pitcher getting an MRI to check out his elbow.
It may be nothing or it may be something severe but for the instant those words exited Boone’s mouth and began circulating through social media and other forms of communication, a shudder and a sinking feel may have started circulating among fans.
“He described it as his recovery before getting to his next start has been more akin to what he feels during the season when he’s making 100 pitches,” Boone told reporters. “When he’s throwing 45 and 55, he usually doesn’t have the recovery issues he’s having.
And those feelings did not subside Tuesday when the Yankees did not release any MRI results other than the obvious news about Cole not being ready to start the season on March 28 in Houston.
It is an unfamiliar feeling for the Yankees and Cole, whose first four seasons have seen him throw 664 innings in 108 regular-season starts. In that span, Cole has thrown 10,727 pitches with 5,468 of those being four-seam fastballs often thrown over 95 mph.
And in his full seasons Cole has made at least 30 starts seven times, including the past six since 2016 when elbow inflammation limited him to 21 starts for the Pirates. Cole is the rare pitcher without a Tommy John surgery on his injury history but at 33 and constantly throwing with the velocity he throws at; it is always lying below the surface especially since other hard throwers such as Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander underwent the procedure at least once.
While there were not any indicators of anything wrong in his first start and a live batting practice, the issue seemed to stem from the recovery. And in those outings, he threw a combined 86 pitches, which means even with nothing serious it would still take longer to build up to the normal 100 or so pitches, which typically gets achieved in four or five spring training outings.
In the meantime figuring out who is the temporary number one starter also is a priority. Based on recent track record, Marcus Stroman would seemingly be the favorite since he has pitched well in his three outings so far.
Stroman has the edge because of Carlos Rodon’s nightmarish first year of a six-year, $162 million deal and Nestor Cortes’ durability issues that limited him to one start after May 30.
For now the Yankees are in a holding pattern and hoping for the best possible scenario. In the meantime they are also doing their diligence on Dylan Cease, a name who was rumored to be traded throughout the offseason and still may get dealt based on the considerable number of scouts in Arizona for his start with the White Sox Tuesday.
And it seems Cease would be the likely path should the Yankees add outside help. By all accounts, Blake Snell is not happening since the Yankees do not like the luxury tax ramifications, though his next contract will likely be smaller than his original desire similar to Cody Bellinger’s deal to stay with the Cubs and Matt Chapman’s deal to join the Giants.
Snell being a Yankee became more unlikely when managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner acknowledged the Yankees are over the highest luxury tax threshold of $297 million. Any contract for the NL Cy Young winner would be taxed at 110 percent and the Yankees would like to save their money for the efforts to retain Juan Soto next offseason.
Regardless of where the Yankees turn, they are as anxious as anyone to find out the diagnosis on Cole and are desperately hoping the absence is not as long as what the extreme possibility may be.
