The Yankees Might Be Screwed

one of the most impressive things about garri Cole really throughout his whole career up until this point but especially since 2017 is how reliable he is it's part of what makes him such a valuable pitcher he's nasty throws hard throws accurately is durable and reliable to always make his starts take the ball every fifth day and stack of innings 2018 was when Cole's career truly took off and he cemented himself as arguably the best pitcher in baseball a status that Still Remains arguably true if Jacob deg Grom stayed healthy it'd probably be him but either way Cole has been an absolute horse out there in the Sion conversation every year until last year when he finally won his first which seemed long overdue so as we now head into the 2024 season which is just around the corner it's just been assumed Cole will be penciled into this Yankee rotation good and ready to go per usual as the most vital piece of this team other than Aaron judge except out of seemingly nowhere there is some new Garrett coold news that may change everything at least for 2024 and maybe even Beyond and speaking of Aaron judge there's also some con concerning news on him it's alarming but before I get any further make sure to hit that subscribe button if you haven't already over 65% of my watch time is from people who aren't subscribed a lot of viewers just don't realize they aren't so if you enjoy the video hit that button along with the bell for post notifications thank you so the scary news is that Cole is undergoing an MRI on his elbow his right pitching elbow obviously that is horrifying as for judge he also underwent an MRI with him getting one on his apps everything at least according to him and the team came back clean but this is just yet another thing the Yankees most definitely don't need to have happening right now you also have judge's toe the injury he got last year which judge himself admitted he thinks will require constant maintenance for the rest of his career and when you consider judge is also someone who just in general has a history being a little banged up and injury-prone none of this is what you want to hear obviously the goal is for him to be ready by opening day which he says he's pretty sure will happen but that doesn't seem reassuring and even if he's ready to go for opening day who's to say he won't have to hit their injured list a week later for his abs his toe or something else it's all worrisome but I wouldn't Panic as much about Judge as Cole that's a lot more concerning at least right now it's actually funny well not funny but interesting because garri Cole and his health as far as his elbow and arm and everything has been on my mind I'd say for a while now I can't tell you exactly for how long but Cole has stuck out to me as someone who's continued to make starts and rack up Innings while simultaneously not having any health issues to go with it most pitchers at least have some points in time where they have soreness somewhere need to sit for a bit but not Cole and without looking or doing any research about his injury history I just felt Cole was pretty abnormal with this turns out he really is and has been he's never once gotten Tommy John surgery he's also just never had a serious injury in general at all and speaking of being durable his whole career Cole has actually made the third most starts in MLB since his career began in 2013 he had a couple slight injury stuff with the Pirates like a little shoulder soreness one time and a tricep straight another time in 2019 he had a little hamstring strain something that of course has nothing to do with the arm and the hamstring is really the only thing he's dealt with since becoming a Yankee and it's not even a thing it was just one time a couple years ago and he's pitched 200 plus Innings the last two years and in five of the last six full seasons so not including 2020 but now Cole's not feeling at his best and has got to get it checked out this is of course bad and scary for the obvious reason but it also goes beyond that what's so scary about this to me and what I feel like should scare everyone is how little prior warning there was to any elbow problem with Garrett Cole at least that we know of but if there really ever was a concern about Cole's right elbow it would have been likely made known Cole's 33 years old I just went through his history a history that really has no concerns he has a very clean record with being healthy which of course is amazing for a pitcher to have and what you want more than anything but again that's what makes this even more horrifying than it already is and it speaks to a broader issue going on in baseball an issue most of you already know about obviously the elbow injury epidemic the Tommy John epidemic whatever you want to call it everyone is hurting their elbow and getting surgery and that of course includes the best of the best the guys who are so much fun to watch the guys who baseball isn't the same without no matter who you are how old you are how good you are you're a walking Tommy John surgery and if anything the better you are the more likely you'll get it if you sucker aren't as good you won't be pitching enough to eventually suffer what guys like Jacob deg Grom Sandy alantra Shane McClanahan Walker bu guys like that have suffered earlier this spring just recently Lucas gelo who just just signed a contract with the Red Sox out of nowhere felt discomfort in his last Ting in his elbow Lucas gelo isn't nearly as established in Elite as G Cole but this is a guy who's also built a resume of being reliable making every start stuff like that there was no prior warning here the Red Sox obviously didn't find anything alarming in Geo's physical before giving him millions of dollars it just happened he's seemingly fine and all of the sudden he's hurt he's getting surgery and is done for the year gle's situation is a little different there's not a specific moment or start this spring where Cole felt something it's more about how difficult it's been for him to bounce back between starts apparently Cole has been comparing how he feels right now to when he throws 100 pitches in a start during the regular season meaning he's feeling the same fatigue and recovery process as that the issue is Cole is only throwing about 45 to 55 pitches because it's spring training to be having trouble recovering when it's just that is of course concerning and not normal something's not right and here's what sucks most about this even if Cole's MRI came back clean enough or there weren't any glaring issues or nothing this is still now something that's still going to be glaring over Cole and the Yankees heads now moving forward I'm no doctor but Cole's elbow is not feeling right for a reason even if nothing is torn or whatever something is still going on and what I see with that is maybe he doesn't have to get any type of surgery now but that doesn't mean he won't have to get it tomorrow or next week or in 3 months in the middle of the Season it just seems like once there's that initial problem with the elbow everything else afterward is just delaying the inevitable I'm not saying gar Cole is getting Tom John surgery I don't know that maybe he won't have to I and everyone should hope that he ends up being just fine and healthy to pitch another 200 Innings this year but just seeing how this dance usually goes the elbow issue doesn't magically go away and it sucks not that anyone is immune to hurting their elbow but it really sucks to just actually see the most durable and reliable guys possible start having these issues guys like gar Cole with no prior problems nothing that foreshadowed this situation he and the Yankees are currently in and speaking of the Yankees anything wrong with Cole of course means a whole lot wrong as a team you don't have Garett Cole I mean that is one of maybe the biggest blow anyone can take to the rotation right now he's getting paid 320 plus million dollar for a reason he's their guy it may not be the smartest thing ever but the Yankees really are relying a whole lot of their success on Cole and if Cole is even not fully there that's bad let alone if he's fully not there I don't think it's an overreaction to say the Yankee season is done if the gar Cole news is anything but good I've seen Yankees fans say that and I don't blame them I mean this would be as big of a blow as a blow can possibly get I don't know if anyone's everever said that before so if not I just created a new saying you're welcome the Yankees rotation is full of question marks Carlos rodon is the furthest thing from a sure impact piece which is the furthest thing from ideal considering the contract he's on Nester Cortez had an awful year last year when he pitched which wasn't often because his shoulder kept him mostly on the injured list so he's not certain I'd say the only certain guys are Clark Schmidt and Marcus strowan Schmidt wasn't good last year and even strowman was banged up last year nothing with his arm but even if he's fully healthy if he is looked at as the ace your team is not built that well and when your team is not built that well in the AL East you're asking to get smacked around the Orioles the Blue Jays the Rays the Red Sox those teams aren't looking to mess around okay yes I was just making sure you were paying attention the Red Sox are not in the same boat at least seemingly as those teams but with the AL e being as tough as it already is even with Cole on the Yankees fully healthy now imagine him no longer being a factor Never Say Never but it'd be a miracle for a Yankees team without Cole to win more games than the Orioles Blue Jays and Rays G Cole is just one guy but he still means so much to this pitching staff and has such an impact and with this news it just shows that Cole's yet another reminder that you have to hold your breath with basically every pitcher now it seems it's like the NFL where at any moment on any play any player can get some season ending injury just with baseballs for pitchers the Yankees seem to already be preparing for the worst too as they've re-engaged with the white socks and made a new trade proposal for Dylan CE there so let's hope for the best for Cole it's hard to see this having a good outcome whether shortterm or longterm but hope hoping for the best is all we can do either way from what we know right now with Cole and with judge and with everything the Yankees really might be screwed let me know what you think thank you for watching and I'll see you soon