Yankees GM Brian Cashman 'prepared for the worst' with Gerrit Cole's elbow issue

Cole experienced discomfort in his throwing elbow after his second spring training start, a brutal outing against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, and serious concern has swirled around the team's ace since then. 

Manager Aaron Boone noted an update could come as early as Monday, but Cashman seems pessimistic about the situation. 

"We will see how it plays out," he added. "I'm always wired to think the worst and hope for the best. 

"Obviously not what you want, but it's ultimately part of our journey here in 2025."

There's currently no timeline for the 2024 postseason star, who noted that adjustments he made to his bat last season could be the cause of the tendinitis in both elbows.

As for Cole, the obvious worst-case scenario when it involves a throwing elbow for a pitcher is a UCL injury, which usually leads to Tommy John surgery - a procedure that renders a player out for the year. 

That would be a crushing blow to the Yankees considering what Cole means to the team in terms of their hopeful World Series revenge tour in 2025. 

Cole also dealt with an elbow injury in 2024 that shut him down for a bit in the spring before he returned to the bump in the regular season. Cashman added that Cole's concern, which he acknowledged on Saturday, isn't something new because of how it was handled last season. 

"I was with him in Tampa. I think last year, [it was] very emotional [for Cole] because it was a whole new experience," Cashman explained. "This year now, not as emotional because he's walked this line already. And so, I think he is mentally more prepared to deal with it because he's already dealt with that once before. So, and that's even the worst-case scenario. Just generally, we are all in a better position to handle something if we've had some experience handling it in the past. 

"He's already had a lot of conversations. A lot of engagement with the doctors and lived through this last year."

Cole, though, wasn't shut down for the entire season. So, while Cashman says the worst-case scenario is prepared for, who knows what happens if and when that becomes reality. 

Cashman added it would be "difficult" to make possible moves at this point in the year to counteract these big injuries, which includes 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil suffering a high-grade lat strain that has him shut down until at least June. 

In turn, Marcus Stroman is expected to fill in for Gil, while Will Warren and Carlos "Cookie" Carrasco figure to be potential replacements if Cole is unable to go in any capacity. 

The 34-year-old Cole is coming off a 2024 campaign that saw him pitch to a 3.41 ERA over 17 starts - one year after leading the league with a 2.63 ERA and 209 innings over 33 starts to win his first Cy Young Award. 

But when the MLB postseason began, Cole was crucial in helping the Yankees reach the World Series, tossing 29.0 innings over five starts with a 2.17 ERA, 22 strikeouts to 10 walks and only seven earned runs allowed.