Yankees' Cole to undergo MRI on elbow
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Monday that ace Gerrit Cole will undergo an MRI on his pitching elbow, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
Boone said Cole's been having trouble recovering as quickly as usual after throwing.
The imaging is precautionary, as there isn't any serious concern about Cole's elbow at the moment, reports Andy Martino of SNY, who adds the development hasn't made any impact on the future of free-agent left-hander Blake Snell.
Cole's only appearance this spring came March 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He allowed three runs and four hits over two innings with one strikeout.
The 33-year-old is coming off a Cy Young-winning season in which he posted a 2.63 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 222 strikeouts over 209 innings.
Cole has been remarkably durable throughout his career. He's coming off back-to-back 200-plus inning seasons and has only spent 13 days on the IL since signing with the Yankees before the 2020 campaign.
New York's pitching staff was decimated by injuries last season, as Cole was the only starter to throw more than 160 innings. The Yankees only had four pitchers (Cole, Clarke Schmidt, Domingo Germán, Michael King) surpass 100 innings in 2023. Germán and King are no longer with the club.
Prior to signing right-hander Marcus Stroman this winter, the Yankees reportedly made an offer to reigning NL Cy Young winner Snell. The deal was believed to be valued at around $150 million over six years. Snell is still a free agent, as are former Yankees hurler Jordan Montgomery, Mike Clevinger, and Michael Lorenzen.
New York's 40-man payroll currently sits at $307.6 million, according to FanGraphs.