The news didn’t take long to spread back to Steinbrenner Field after Aaron Boone said prior to the Yankees’ split-squad road game against the Phillies, that Gerrit Cole would be getting an MRI on his right elbow on Monday.
While the Yankees hold their collective breath waiting for the results, Nestor Cortes acknowledged what’s at stake, saying that the situation surrounding the team’s ace was “alarming.”
“He’s the reigning Cy Young winner,” Cortes said of Cole (middle in picture), who won his first Cy Young award last season. “He’s a big part of this rotation. It’s tough to hear.”
So instead of pitching as scheduled on Tuesday, Cole will instead likely get more information regarding his elbow, which Boone said had not been responding as well as it normally does between outings this time of year.
Cortes, whose locker in the home clubhouse at GMS Field is only a few stalls from Cole’s, said he had been aware of something going on with the right-hander.
“I know he’s been dealing with some stuff, as every pitcher is during spring training,’’ Cortes said at GMS Field. “I didn’t know how serious it was until now.”
Cole has been especially durable throughout his career, which makes the shutdown stand out even more.
At this point, though, the Yankees can only wait after what had been a quiet spring was jolted by the Cole news, as well as Aaron Judge being held out of games for two days because he was “beat up” physically, according to Boone.
