Gerrit Cole handles the pitch with seriousness, precision and expertise comparable to that of a world-renowned brain surgeon.
So it’s no surprise that when he took a major step — or in this case, launched — toward a return to a major league mound, he offered a matrix-style debrief. Twenty-five throws. From 60 feet. He recorded twenty-two of them as being ideally delivered to his capturing partner’s chest. At 71 mph.
Cole followed that with the best 15-minute TED talk on the throwing injury crisis that anyone is likely to provide; full of thoughtful details that brought insight, compassion and a 360-degree view of the issue. Check out my colleague Dan Martin’s story for more details or my Tuesday morning column on Post+, but let’s just say that Cole at throwing is like Steph Curry at shooting. So if MLB doesn’t seek his input as part of the massive study it’s undertaking due to lingering feelings of resentment over his enormous role in the MLB Players’ Association during the latest shutdown work, she shows pettiness, shortsightedness and certainly not in the same way. Need an adult in the room.
Cole was throwing those 25 pitches 60 feet because even the seemingly unbreakable right-hander is trapped in this outbreak. He will be out for at least two months due to nerve inflammation in his elbow. It was fitting that Cole had what he calls a “really good day” the night of the NCAA men’s basketball final. Because the key to success this season is whether the Yankees can survive and advance until their ace returns.
“It’s like holding down the fort while you wait for some of your main players to come back and Cole is obviously our main player,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “And so far so good.”
Indeed, on Monday, the Yankees also entered a third rotation without another injury and without a starter implosion. And they received their best start in 2024 from Nestor Cortes in what would become a 7-0 collage of the overmatched Marlins.
Juan Soto hit a three-run homer and Anthony Volpe – with two more stellar defensive plays and a three-run homer of his own – was once again the best player on the field. Volpe’s homer came on a 1-2 pitch and he is now 8-for-23 (.345) this year with two strikes. Last season, he was helpless at 33 for 308, .107 average, fifth-worst among 203 players who played at least 200 games with two strikes.
Yet despite more excellence in both directions, Volpe wasn’t the most vital Yankee on Monday.
Aaron Boone didn’t want to say it during the pregame, but admitted afterward that it takes length from a starter to protect a taxed bullpen. As Cortes said, “Five innings wasn’t going to be enough.” And so, he became the first Yankees starter not named Gerrit Cole to record an eighth-inning out since — drum roll, please — Domingo German pitched his perfect game last June 28.
“As a team, we feel that way,” Cortes said of his rise while Cole was down. “He’s our best pitcher, maybe the best in the game. He was our automatic “W” last year. So as a team we have to pick up that slack. We have to be better. We need to make sure we hold on and help us win games until he returns.
The Yankees were 23-10 when Cole began his 2023 AL Cy Young season. They were 59-70 years old when that wasn’t the case. So this AL-best 9-2 to start the season without Cole is significant. The starting quintet combined for a 2.78 ERA, about what Cole had last year (2.63).
That number was obviously helped by Cortes’ eight shutout innings on Monday, which also coincided with the Giants’ 2024 debut of Blake Snell, who the Yankees did not sign despite Cole’s injury. Not only did Cortes not walk a batter, but the southpaw never reached a three-pitch count. He worked in an effective changeup against the Marlins’ overly aggressive hitters and was accurate with his fastball.
With so much discussion in recent days about whether maximizing every pitch is at the heart of so many pitching injuries, Cortes dominated with a fastball that didn’t average 90 mph (89, 9). He said it wasn’t intentional. He was not injured. He was just cold and unable to fully free himself. But Cortes and Marcus Stroman have what so few pitchers possess these days: the art and craft in their game. They can add and subtract, dazzle with multiple angles and a range of pitches.
That doesn’t guarantee health — both missed significant time due to injury last season. But it illustrates that success in the modern game is not strictly dependent on strength on each pitch.
And the Yankees need them – as well as Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil. At a minimum, the rotation will be 12 rounds before Cole can even return. But let’s remember that Cortes, Stroman and Rodon have been All-Stars over the last two seasons. They have a pedigree. And now they have a responsibility.
Survive and move forward to reach Cole.
New York Post
