Gerrit Cole’s MRI deemed 'precautionary' as Yankees await results
The Yankees are awaiting results of an MRI on the right elbow of reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, and might not be ready to announce a diagnosis until mid-week.
But for what it’s worth, word around the team is that Cole’s exam is "precautionary," and that there isn’t extreme concern about the situation. While acknowledging that an MRI can result in any number of diagnoses, including worst-case scenarios, the Yankees don’t seem overly worried about losing Cole for a long period of time.
It’s worth noting that an elbow MRI for a pitcher is never, in the immortal words of former Yankee manager Joe Girardi, what you want. Stay tuned.
"He described it as his recovery before getting to his next start has been more akin to what he feels during the season when he’s making 100 pitches," manager Aaron Boone told reporters in Clearwater, Fla, before the Yankees split-squad game.
"When he’s throwing 45 and 55, he usually doesn’t have the recovery issues he’s having. It’s just been more of a challenge and more taxing, so we’re going to get an MRI just to see what we’re dealing with there."
The Cole news has not reignited the Yankees’ onetime pursuit of free agent ace Blake Snell, per league sources.
SNY reported last month that the Yankees pulled their offer to Snell in January, after Snell turned it down and the team signed Marcus Stroman. As of Monday afternoon, nothing had changed on that front.
