TAMPA — Aaron Boone didn’t have a definitive update on Gerrit Cole on Tuesday, but the pitcher is expected to undergo more tests a day after it was revealed that his right elbow needs an MRI.
Cole had trouble recovering between outings, which prompted the tests.
Boone, speaking to reporters in Dunedin before the Yankees’ spring training game against the Blue Jays, said that a prognosis could still take “a couple of days until everybody weighs in on it.” The manager added that it “would be difficult” to envision Cole starting the Yankees’ opener on March 28 in Houston, as the pitcher would still need time to build up even if tests come back clean.
“I know he’s not bouncing back the way he is, but that guy’s a perfectionist,” Aaron Judge said of Cole after talking about his own MRI on Tuesday. “So I’m hoping for the best news. Even if it’s him being out a couple of weeks, whatever it is. I’ll take that over anything more, so we’re all praying for the best.
“Any Yankee fan, I understand [being worried], but not all the answers are out there yet. So everyone can speculate, but once we get all the details, then we can make some decisions.”
While Judge didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, Boone said the Yankees have started to talk about who could make that Opening Day start instead. Marcus Stroman has had the best spring of any expected member of the rotation, though Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes are also among the options.
If Cole were to miss significant time, the Yankees would have to tap into their rotation depth or add a starter. While Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Dylan Cease are options in free agency and on the trade block, internal candidates include Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, Luke Weaver, Cody Poteet and Luis Gil.
Weaver was supposed to start Tuesday’s game against Toronto but was scratched with a stiff neck. He is expected to throw a live session on Wednesday.
Cole, the reigning American League Cy Young winner, has been rather durable throughout his career. He’s made at least 30 starts in seven of his 11 MLB seasons and made a full 12 starts during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He’s totaled 591 innings in the three campaigns since then, including 209 frames last season.
A prolonged absence would be a brutal blow to a rotation that already has question marks, as Rodón, Cortes and Stroman all battled injuries and inconsistencies last year. Schmidt, meanwhile, soared past his career-high with 159 innings pitched.
