Yankees manager Aaron Boone informed reporters, including The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, that the right-hander Gerrit Cole will be placed on the 15-day injured list starting with the team on Friday. That will be his first start in the major leagues since 2024, as he spent 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Cole’s record is well known during this time, as he was one of the most consistent players throughout his career. He has a 3.18 earned run average in nearly 2,000 major league innings. In 12 seasons, he finished only once with an ERA higher than 3.88.
Absence of injury was rare for him. From 2013 to 2023, he pitched at least 116 innings in each full season and hit the 200-inning mark six times. Elbow problems became a hot topic in 2024. Fresh off winning the Cy Young in 2023, he hurt his elbow early the following year. He started the 2024 season in the IL but eventually returned and posted a 3.41 ERA over 95 innings. He then posted a 2.17 ERA in five postseason starts as the Yanks charged to the World Series, eventually falling to the Dodgers.
Then in spring training of 2025, the elbow discomfort returned. This time, it was very difficult, as Cole had to go under the knife in March. He is out for the 2025 season and the Yanks have done well without him. They had signed Fried Maxwho stepped into the role of ace. Fried gave the Yanks a 2.86 ERA over 32 starts last year as the Yanks went 94-68. They couldn’t go as far in the playoffs as the year before, dropping an ALDS tie to the Blue Jays.
Now, coincidentally, Fried and Cole have successfully swapped places again. Fried recently hit the IL with a bone bruise in his left elbow. It’s unclear how long that issue will keep Fried on the shelf, but it continues the expansion of two pitchers being on the same team without being on the active roster together.
Cole has been rehabbing for several weeks and was scheduled to make another rehab start. The Yanks initially said that Fried’s injury would not allow them to speed up Cole’s timeline, but it appears that they have abandoned that. Cole is arguably stretched, having gone at least 4 1/3 innings in all six of his rehab seasons. His 4.66 ERA doesn’t look too impressive but he’s only allowed three earned runs combined in his last two starts, throwing 10 1/3 innings in those.
Fried’s injury temporarily delays a difficult decision for the Yankees. The team was getting good results from Fried, Is Warren, Cam Schlittler again Ryan Weathersand all four of those guys have ERAs under 3.60. Carlos Rodón has a 5.63 ERA but two starts, as he also started the season in the IL recovering from elbow surgery. With Cole rehabbing, it seems likely someone will get an unfair dismissal in the minors or the bullpen.
For now, Cole takes Fried’s place and everyone else on that team can stay. If Fried is able to return relatively quickly, then perhaps a tough decision will be needed at that point, even though another injury may arise in the meantime. That is also possible Clark Schmidt may enter the picture late in the season, as he recovers from Tommy John surgery in July.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
