New York Yankees fans can breathe a sigh of relief now that it is believed that the recent Cy Young Award Winner will avoid requiring Tommy John surgery, as reported by the New York Post.
Earlier this week, news had dropped that Gerrit Cole would be receiving an MRI due to experiencing “discomfort” in his right elbow, which led many fans and analysts to believe that the Yankees would be without their ace for a significant amount of time.
Cole received an MRI, CT scan, and other tests to verify if there was a tear in his UCL tendon or not. It was found by Yankees team physicians that no immediate damage was visible, but LA-based surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache asked for Cole to visit him in person to conduct further testing. Dr. ElAttrache later agreed that no tear of the UCL tendon was found.
The current recommendation for Cole is rest, rehab, and some light, non-surgical treatments. It is believed that he would miss four to eight weeks. This is far from the worst-case scenario, as the time needed for recovery from Tommy John surgery is about 12 months.
The 33-year-old workhorse pitcher can breathe a “Cy” of relief, knowing that he will be able to perform in a pivotal “all-in” year for the organization.
Before receiving this news, the Yankees were already planning for the worst-case scenario of losing Cole for the entire season. Rumors of trading for now Padres pitcher, Dylan Cease, circulated to the point of it being reported that the White Sox had received an offer from the Yankees; but decided to trade with the Padres instead in a deal that included former Yankee prospect, Drew Thorpe. Blake Snell and Michael Lorenzen were also seen as an option, as they remain unsigned free agents at this time.
Many Yankees fans had prematurely theorized that Cole would be missing for the season, with the belief that the organization was “withholding information” from the press. Thankfully, this proved to be false. Fans and analysts were notably anxious regarding the length of time required to receive multiple opinions from physicians after initial radiological testing was completed. This feeling was fueled by a report that stated that it would be roughly two days before the public would be aware of Cole’s diagnosis and treatment plan; this timing is fairly understandable with the consideration that Cole is a $324 million investment.
Yankees fans will be excited to see Cole return in May or June as he pitched to a 2.63 ERA, 165 ERA+, 0.981 WHIP, and logged 15 wins over 209 innings during his first Cy Young winning season last year.
Nice, succinct, factual summary of hair raising events.