Quick thoughts as Gerrit Cole heads for an MRI on his elbow

This spring went from very fun and exciting to potentially terrible in a heartbeat. On Monday, Aaron Boone announced Gerrit Cole is going for an MRI on his pitching elbow because he’s had trouble bouncing back between starts. Boone said Cole likened the soreness to how he feels after a 100-pitch regular season start, not a Spring Training start. Of course, the Yankees downplay every injury, so it's hard to trust them here. Who really knows?

Cole has made only one Grapefruit League start this spring. He threw two innings and 39 pitches on March 1st – he got rolled in the first inning, so he actually had three “ups” and got outs in three separate innings that game – though he threw a 45-50 pitch simulated game last Thursday, March 7th. Opening Day is two weeks and three days away. Hard to believe Cole will be ready for that start now.

Here is the rotation depth chart as things stand:

1. RHP Gerrit Cole (going for MRI on elbow)
2. LHP Carlos Rodón (injured and ineffective in 2023)
3. RHP Marcus Stroman (missed time with injuries in 2023)
4. LHP Nestor Cortes (injured and ineffective in 2023)
5. RHP Clarke Schmidt (set a new career high by 66 innings in 2023)
6. RHP Will Warren (zero MLB experience)
7. RHP Luke Weaver (literally Luke Weaver)

Reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and former Yankee Jordan Montgomery remain unsigned and it goes without saying you don’t trade for one year of Juan Soto only to futz around with Rodón and Stroman as your two best starters after Cole gets hurt. I wanted the Yankees to sign Snell (or Montgomery) even before this Cole news. Now? I don’t see a compelling argument against it.

Cole has not missed a start for a non-COVID reason since 2016, when he missed about six weeks spread across two separate injured list stints with elbow inflammation while with the Pirates. Hopefully this is like that again. Some inflammation, a little rest will knock it out, and Cole will be good as new in a few weeks. Spring Training is peak elbow injury season though. These ramp ups can be hell on arms.

An MRI will turn up something spooky for any pitcher Cole’s age and with his career workload. The tricky part is determining what’s a legitimate concern and what is normal wear and tear, and something he can continue pitching with. MRIs are like art, they’re open to interpretation, and one doctor’s red flag could be another’s non-issue. I think we can safely assume the Yankees will be ultra-cautious with their $324M ace.

With any luck, this will all prove to be an elaborate ruse in which Cole is helping Montgomery and Snell, two fellow Scott Boras clients, get signed for 2024. I would respect the hell out of him for that. For real though, this is worrisome. I mean duh. We won’t get word on the MRI results until probably Tuesday, and even then Cole might go for a second opinion and keep us waiting longer. Well, fingers crossed. Not much more we can do other than hope for the best.