Yankees' Gerrit Cole to Undergo MRI for Right Elbow Injury, Aaron Boone Says

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Monday that ace starting pitcher and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole is set to undergo an MRI on his throwing elbow.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted that the MRI is due to the fact that Cole is "having a little more trouble recovering than usual at this time of year."

According to Andy Martino of SNY, the MRI is being viewed as "precautionary."

Per Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record, Boone said bouncing back between throwing sessions has been "more of a challenge" for Cole this spring and is more in line with what a pitcher typically experiences during the rigors of the regular season.

The 33-year-old Cole has been a model of health and consistency since the Yankees signed him to a nine-year, $324 million contract in 2019.

In four seasons with the Yankees, Cole is 51-23 with a 3.08 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 816 strikeouts over 664 innings.

He has also been named an All-Star three times while wearing pinstripes, and after finishing fourth, second and ninth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in his first three years with the team, Cole finally broke through last season.

Making 33 starts for a second straight year, Cole went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 222 strikeouts over 209 innings en route to winning the Cy Young Award for the first time in his career.

Cole was one of the few constants for the Yanks during an injury-riddled 2023 campaign, as he took the mound every fifth day and almost always gave the team a chance to win.

While Cole remained healthy and pitched like a stud, fellow starters Carlos Rodón, Luis Severino, Nestor Cortés and Frankie Montas all missed significant time due to injury, as did key hitters such as Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo.

The Yankees are hopeful for a healthier year out of Rodón and Cortés, plus they signed veteran starter Marcus Stroman, but losing Cole would be a major blow to their chances of bouncing back from last season's 82-80 record and returning to the playoffs.

The timing is especially bad since the Yankees' Opening Day game against the Houston Astros on March 28 is only about two weeks away, and Cole was locked in as the Opening Day starter.

He could still start that game if nothing of note is found in the MRI, but it is a nervous time for the Yankees and their fans nonetheless.

If the Yankees do end up having to place Cole on the injured list, there are still two high-quality starting pitchers still available in free agency.

Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery have waited things out, and either of them could be at least a somewhat suitable replacement for Cole.

Snell won the second Cy Young Award of his career last season with the San Diego Padres, while Montgomery pitched six seasons for the Yankees before winning a World Series with the Texas Rangers last season.