Gerrit Cole ‘absolutely’ confident he’ll pitch this season after revealing his Yankees injury
TAMPA — For the next three to four weeks, Gerrit Cole will not be throwing a baseball.
Then, even in a best-case scenario, he will still need another six weeks or so to build up his arm in his second attempt at a full spring training.
So the Yankees will be without their ace at least until the end of May or early June.
But considering how many visits to Dr. Neal ElAttrache end (in surgery) Cole and the Yankees feel they may have dodged a bullet that once appeared headed for his pitching elbow.
Cole was diagnosed with nerve inflammation and edema (swelling caused by a buildup of fluid) in his right elbow, he said Saturday, ending nearly a week-long deep dive into what was ailing him.
Still, the prognosis had the reigning AL Cy Young award winner feeling “pretty good” as he left his visit with ElAttrache in Los Angeles this past week.
“I think we’ve determined that we just got a little too hot a little too quick in spring,” an upbeat and relieved-sounding Cole said Saturday at Steinbrenner Field in his first comments since undergoing a battery of tests this past week. “We progressed through the normal recovery cycle, but at a certain time, we didn’t get back to our baseline, which was kind of our target.
“At that point, it was time to see what was going on.”
Cole indicated he was “absolutely” confident that he will be back pitching this year, with the Yankees’ season largely banking on that being the case.
This will be the first time Cole has been on the injured list for any kind of an arm injury, and GM Brian Cashman didn’t rule out transferring him to the 60-day IL at some point if the Yankees need to open a 40-man roster spot because “he’s gonna miss that time regardless.”
Doing so would keep Cole out until at least May 27.
But there was some peace of mind gained from finally getting a diagnosis that was not, at the outset, as damaging as it could have been.
“I think the last several days have been, Gerrit and all of us, a million thoughts of what this could be,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So to have a diagnosis I think feels good for everyone, including Gerrit. Now it’s like, here’s the plan, let’s go attack it.”
The 33-year-old Cole said he will not receive any PRP shots in his elbow, instead opting for “just rest and recovery” over the next three to four weeks before trying to build back up.
“We’re going to keep the arm live though,” Cole said, referring to plyometrics and arm movements. “It’s not like we’re not doing anything. That was the term that the doctors described — you’re going to keep the arm live for the next three, four weeks and then hit the ground running.”
While the fan base was holding its collective breath as doctors tried to get a read on Cole’s elbow — including making sure his UCL was still intact — Cashman said he had some comfort from his discussions with the $324 million right-hander before he flew west.
Cashman described Cole as just wanting to be thorough in checking off every box with multiple opinions, including from ElAttrache, who has known him since his amateur days.
“I trust Gerrit,” Cashman said. “I really trust his knowledge of himself, his knowledge of his craft, and also the strength that he shows of, ‘Listen, I want to do a deep dive here just in case.’ Thankfully he did.”
There is no guarantee that the elbow issue will not crop back up at some point, either as Cole tries to start throwing again or later in the season.
But Cashman was optimistic that could be avoided, describing this diagnosis as the “second-best case” scenario behind no injury at all.
“We talk constantly, these guys are always at risk every time they’re cocking their arm, no matter what,” Cashman said. “But I feel really comfortable based on all the feedback and the experts that were involved — our guy [team doctor Chris Ahmad] and then obviously [Cole] deciding to go west to meet with his guy.”
For now, Cashman said he liked the Yankees’ internal candidates to fill the fifth-starter spot, citing Luis Gil, Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, Cody Poteet and Luke Weaver.
Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain free agents, though they would be costly additions with the Yankees already over the highest luxury-tax threshold.
“I feel good about our internal options,” Cashman said. “At the same time, it’s never stopped us from having external conversations regardless. That was going on before this, it’ll continue to go on until pencils down at the end of July.”
