Gerrit Cole won't be on the mound for a long time.
The New York Yankees announced their ace will miss the entire 2025 season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He is set to undergo Tommy John surgery and could return by the middle of next season.
Cole is the Yankees' clear No. 1 starter, so this is a massive blow to the franchise. The six-time All-Star won the American League Cy Young award in 2023 and, despite missing a chunk of 2024 as he dealt with elbow discomfort, he returned to have a solid season. He went 8-5, with a 3.41 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and 99 strikeouts in 95 innings over 17 starts.
Yankees fans were beside themselves after the news broke.
Quick non-fleshed out thoughts from the happiest-place-on-earth on Cole needing Tommy John surgery pic.twitter.com/GmYuJ74wZv
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) March 10, 2025
— Patches O’Houlihan (@sondraa) March 10, 2025
https://t.co/rjhWViGTjQ pic.twitter.com/iPdLIi3JDw
— Max (@MaxWildstein) March 10, 2025
everything hurts and nothing matters https://t.co/IkMmsET5OU
— Scott Nover (@ScottNover) March 10, 2025
I hate sports. They are the worst. https://t.co/pTMiXYu6BM
— Adam Schein (@AdamSchein) March 10, 2025
Not taking questions at this time. https://t.co/9s4kYqgc6P pic.twitter.com/te3KRQboPg
— Amags (@amagspicks) March 10, 2025
https://t.co/ioUAuY8aU7 pic.twitter.com/DRrbNjeXMr
— David Rifkin (@davidrifkin) March 10, 2025
After losing Juan Soto this offseason, the Yankees pivoted to beefing up their pitching staff. They gave Max Fried an eight-year, $218 million contract and swung a trade to land top closer Devin Williams. Those moves were made in anticipation of Cole being the team's No. 1 starter. Now, things have been thrown completely in flux.
Over the past few months the Yankees lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, lost Soto to the New York Mets and now lost Cole to Tommy John surgery. So, yeah, it's been a rough stretch for the team's fans.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Gerrit Cole's Tommy John Surgery Has Yankees Fans in a World of Hurt.
