The New York Yankees whole season got off to a difficult start when, about three weeks before opening day, the team’s best and â at $36 million per year â highest paid pitcher announced that he was experiencing “alarming” pain in his throwing elbow.
Gerrit Cole, the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner, experienced an elbow injury in the 2024 season that kept him sidelined until June 19.
In March of the following year, the elbow pain came back after a spring training start against the Minnesota Twins. Cole admitted at that time to being “concerned” that he would need elbow surgery.
His concerns proved well-founded. He underwent Tommy John surgery a few days later, with a recovery time frame given of 14-18 months.
Cole Out For Start of 2026 Season
On Thursday, at the Yankees season retrospective press conference, manager Aaron Boone confirmed that the initial timeline appeared to be basically correct.
Cole will not be ready to start the season with the Yankees in 2026.
“Not opening day, but you know, hopefully not too far after,” Boone said at the press conference.
The good news was that Cole does not appear to have suffered any notable setbacks in his recovery program, according to Boone.
“At some point in spring training, hopefully you’ll we’ll see him on the mound starting to face live hitters and start that progression and that ramp-up,” the 52-year-old manager said on Thursday. “But so far everything’s gone according to plan.”
Two More Starters Also Out For Opening Day
The Yankees rotation will start the season not only without Cole, but also without lefty Carlos Rodon who recently underwent elbow surgery to “clean up loose bodies in the elbow and shave down a bone spur, according to Boone,” the New York Post reported.
Rodon will not be able to throw for eight weeks, and his 2026 season debut will be delayed “potentially a couple of weeks,” according to Boone.
In July, another Yankees starter, former first-round draft pick Clarke Schmidt, also was forced to have Tommy John surgery.
Schmidt is “expected to begin (a) throwing program in mid-December. Could return in second half of 2026,” Boone said, as reported by MLB.com Yankees correspondent Bryan Hoch.
That means the Yankees will start the season short three members of their five-man starting rotation. Two of those pitchers, Cole and Schmidt, will be on the comeback trail from Tommy John, which means they are likely to be pitching at less that full effectiveness for much of the season.
Recovery From TJ Could Take Time
As a comparison, Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara missed all of 2024 with Tommy John surgery but was able to make the team’s opening day start in 2025. However, Alcantara posted an ERA of 8.31 in April and 8.64 in May before settling down to a 4.34 mark in June and 4.66 in July.
Alcantara did not pitch a month with an ERA under 4.00 until August.
The Yankees will need better than that from Cole and Schmidt if they plan on making another run at winning the AL East and possibly returning to the World Series next season.
Boone also announced more injury news, saying that shortstop Anthony Volpe “underwent left shoulder surgery October 14. Cannot swing bat for 4 months, cannot dive on the shoulder for 6 months. Will begin season on injured list, could return in April or May,” according to Hoch’s report.
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