The New York Yankees enter the 2025 MLB season with sky-high expectations once again. Fresh off a World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees missed out on Juan Soto as the slugger took a short trip and signed with the New York Mets.
To make things worse, the Yankees got some crushing news on star pitcher Gerrit Cole, who is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Yankees Get Addition Gerrit Cole Update
After Cole’s injury, the Yankees got another update on the star pitcher, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.
‘Gerrit Cole had full UCL reconstruction surgery *in addition to* an internal brace, a Yankees spokesman says. That’s still Tommy John, just with the internal brace to fortify it. Typical recovery timeframe still stands.’
So, the initial timeframe of 14-to-18 months still stands, per Kuty. That means the Yankees will be without Cole for the entire 2025 MLB season and the earliest possible return could be somewhere around the All-Star Game in 2026.
It’s a brutal blow for the Yankees and Cole, who went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 2024 while battling injuries as well.
What Do The Yankees Do Now?
Not only is Cole on the shelf, but American League Rookie of the Year pitcher Luis Gil is also out for the foreseeable future with an injury.
That means the Yankees’ likely rotation to kick off the season will be something along the lines of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt with Marcus Stroman, and Will Warren fighting for the final spots.
The Yankees’ options for insurance are limited for the time being, and it’s a massive cloud on what was expected to be a strong season for the franchise.