Gerrit Cole reportedly gets MRI on pitching elbow due to discomfort after rough spring training start

The New York Yankees are holding their breath on Gerrit Cole.

The staff ace and former Cy Young Award winner underwent an MRI on his pitching elbow Friday due to discomfort he experienced after a rough spring training start on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Cole said he is “concerned” about what the MRI will show and that he expects to know the results in the next few days.

“I’ve still got some hope. I’m just waiting for the experts to weigh in,” said Cole, who noted he was getting second opinions.

Cole allowed six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings of work against the Minnesota Twins, throwing 54 pitches and averaging 95.7 mph with his four-seam fastball.

“In the game there was a lot of good stuff happening the other day, but as I got home I just continued to get more and more sore,” Cole said. “Something wasn’t right.”

Cole was strong in his first spring training start on Feb. 28, striking out five and allowing three hits and one earned run in 3 1/3 innings.

Gerrit Cole and the Yankees didn’t need this

This is the second straight season in which Cole experienced elbow issues in spring training. Last year, he was shut down with nerve inflammation in his elbow and didn’t make his season debut until June 19. He went on to post a 3.41 ERA and helped lead the Yankees to the World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cole is also coming off an unusual offseason in which he opted out of his contract, then agreed to return on a four year, $144 million deal — the exact terms of the contract he opted out of.

It goes without saying losing Cole for a significant amount of time would be catastrophic for the Yankees. They already lost last year’s Rookie of the Year Luis Gil for at least three months to a lat strain. More broadly, they lost Juan Soto to the New York Mets in the winter and attempted to make up for it with a large swath of moves, including an eight-year, $218 million deal for starting pitcher Max Fried. They also traded away starter Nestor Cortes in the Devin Williams deal.

Without Cole or Gil, New York would be poised to enter the 2025 season with a rotation along the lines of Fried, Clarke Schmidt, Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman (whom they’re probably happy with not trading now) and something like Will Warren or non-roster invitee Carlos Carrasco.

It’s an unenviable position for a team that began the spring with high expectations and a chip on its shoulder, so Cole’s test results can’t come back soon enough.