Gerrit Cole News Keeps Getting Worse For Yankees' 2025 Season

News broke late Friday night that New York Yankees superstar starting pitcher Gerrit Cole had been dealing with elbow discomfort. 

Cole's latest spring training outing was not good, as the 34-year-old gave up six runs in just over two innings against the Minnesota Twins. The pain was apparently bad enough that, per Jon Heyman, Cole went to get an MRI on his pitching elbow. With Yankees' fans holding their breath until Cole and the team got the results. 

READ: Yankees Gerrit Cole To Undergo Tests For Elbow Injury: This Is My Nightmare

Well, the results are in. And they aren't good.

While short on details, Cole spoke to reporters and admitted that he's "concerned" about his elbow, so much so that he's going to get a second opinion.

"I'm hoping for the best," Cole said. "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. Something wasn't right."

 That's not what you want to hear.

Feb 12, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) participates in spring training workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Gerrit Cole Injury Further Decimates Yankees' Thin Rotation

After losing Juan Soto to the New York Mets, the Yankees front office pivoted to beefing up their starting rotation this offseason. 

Joining Cole at the top was free agent Max Fried, with Carlos Rodon and Rookie of the Year Luis Gil behind them. Clarke Schmidt would be one of the best fifth starters in baseball, with Marcus Stroman providing depth. The regular season hasn't started yet, and that depth already looks extremely necessary.

Gil got bad news recently, with a lat strain set to keep him out at least three months. Now Cole is talking as if it's all but a foregone conclusion that he faces elbow surgery.

All of a sudden, the Yankees' rotation for the foreseeable future looks like Fried, Rodon, Stroman, Schmidt and Will Warren. For a team hoping to return to the World Series in a brutal AL East, that might not be enough. Especially with Giancarlo Stanton already down too with one of his patented injuries.

New York traded starter Nestor Cortes for star closer Devin Williams during the offseason, thinking that they had enough in their rotation to shore up their bullpen. If Cole is forced to miss the entire 2025 season, an outcome that now looks extremely likely, how much will they regret giving up an above-average starter? Only to see him replaced by Marcus Stroman or Will Warren?

The Yankees faced stiff competition in the AL from the Baltimore Orioles and resurgent Boston Red Sox. With Saturday's news on Cole, their odds look a lot, lot worse.