Gerrit Cole is the most indispensable player on the New York Yankees in 2024.
On Monday, the team announced that the reigning American League Cy Young winner will have an MRI on his right elbow after he has struggled to recover in between outings this spring.
Last season, the Yankees fell apart after Aaron Judge crashed into Dodger Stadium’s right-field wall, causing him to miss nearly two months — an injury that helped crater the team’s playoff hopes. In a doomsday scenario involving Judge this year, the Yankees now have Juan Soto, who could carry the lineup by himself. The Yankees do not have that luxury on the pitching staff.
Manager Aaron Boone said the team is not expecting to get results on Cole’s elbow on Monday and possibly not Tuesday as the pitcher gets multiple opinions.
A long-term Cole injury would be damaging and lethal for any hopes of hoisting a World Series trophy this year. The ripple effects would affect the organization from top to bottom and could impact the market externally.
Let’s run through the Yankees’ options the Yankees have if Cole misses significant time.
Who would start on Opening Day?
Cole has made every Opening Day start for the Yankees since signing with the team in Dec. 2019. He’s one of 11 Yankees in franchise history to make at least four Opening Day starts.
Even if Cole’s MRI comes back clean, his streak of Opening Day starts is already likely in jeopardy, as he has only made one spring training start and the team will almost certainly take it slowly after this scare.
The remaining options to start Game 1 against the Houston Astros would likely be between Carlos Rodón and Marcus Stroman.
Expectations for Rodón were exponentially high last season after signing a six-year, $162 million contract, but injuries and underperformance led to a 6.85 ERA in his first season in pinstripes. While spring training stats aren’t everything, Rodón hasn’t given any reason for fans who already don’t believe in him to change their opinion. In two outings, Rodón has given up three home runs.
Stroman has thrown 10.1 innings so far and has only allowed two runs in three outings. Again, spring stats aren’t everything, but he’s looked the most crisp out of all the starting pitchers. When healthy, Stroman has been one of the most consistent starters in the majors. He would be our pick to start on Opening Day. — Kirschner
Who would be the internal options to join the rotation?
After trading Michael King, Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez for Soto this offseason, the Yankees’ starting pitching depth is thin.
They re-signed Luke Weaver in free agency, but he has a career 5.14 ERA in eight MLB seasons and hasn’t quieted any concerns about his viability in a bigger role so far in spring. Because he’s guaranteed $2 million in 2024, Weaver is likely the top candidate to join the rotation as a fifth starter.
Will Warren, who’s starting in Monday’s split-squad game, is not on the 40-man roster but is regarded as the most major league-ready prospect in the Yankees’ system. The Yankees would have to either designate a player for assignment or place someone on the 60-man injured list to create space for Warren to join the 40-man roster.
Clayton Beeter and Cody Morris, two pitchers on the 40-man roster, are depth options, but both will likely start the season with Triple-A Scranton. — Kirschner
(Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Sign Blake Snell?
The Yankees likely aren’t going to re-engage the external markets until they know exactly what’s wrong with Cole’s elbow. How long he’ll be on ice will determine their plan. The Yankees have a history of downplaying injuries, but then also setting conservative timelines for when players will return.
The immediate focus of Yankees fans will shift toward Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery — the top remaining free agent pitchers and who, like Cole, are clients of Scott Boras.
Before Cole’s injury, the Yankees had spoken to Boras more often about Snell than they had Montgomery, according to two people with knowledge of the team’s personnel decisions. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely. The Yankees also had a contract offer out to Snell before they signed righty starting pitcher Marcus Stroman on January 17, the sources said. That offer didn’t contain any opt-outs, which at the time seemed to signal the Yankees’ preference for a longer-term deal that would come with a lower average annual value and soften their luxury tax hit. The Yankees’ payroll is higher than $300 million, owner Hal Steinbrenner has said, and they will incur a 110-percent penalty on every dollar they spend on it.
It would seem that if the Yankees were to look to add from the top of the free-agent market, they would look toward Snell, who has told multiple people in the organization he’d like to sign with the team, sources said. But, clearly, the money hasn’t been right yet. — Kuty
The Yankees spoke in the offseason with the Chicago White Sox about right-hander Dylan Cease. Cease, 28, had a 4.58 ERA over 33 starts last year, but finished runner-up in the AL Cy Young race in 2022. He’ll be a free agent after the 2025 season and it would seemingly behoove Chicago to jettison him when his value might be at its peak — either now or at the trade deadline.
“All it takes is one team to want to jump out, perhaps, and get a deal done,” said general manager Chris Getz in January, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “In the case of Dylan, I don’t think there’s a club out there that hasn’t expressed some level of interest in him.”
The Yankees bucked at Chicago’s request to include top outfield prospect Spencer Jones in any potential deal for Cease, a source said. But it’s worth wondering if the Yankees’ calculus could change if Cole is forced to miss an extended period. — Kuty
(Top photo of Gerrit Cole: New York Yankees/Getty Images)
