TAMPA — The best season of Gerrit Cole’s career turned into the Yankees’ worst season in 32 years.
And while Cole is grateful for the Cy Young Award he won after posting a 2.63 ERA with 222 strikeouts in 209 innings, he still wants to win the World Series.
The Yankees may need to take a page out of his book to help him. It’s not necessarily about his league-leading stats, it’s about his ability to stay on the field and get the job done. Every 5 days.
Asked Thursday what he thought of the Yankees’ 82-80 season after spending months on his hands, Cole didn’t spend much time getting his point across.
“Certainly there were injuries beyond the normal range of injuries that affected us,” Cole said after a bullpen session at Steinbrenner Field.
“That being said, we get injured too much as a group. We need to improve.”
That’s true for the entire roster, with more than a few injuries in the lineup that hurt the team last season, but it’s especially true for the rotation that Cole is trying to establish.
Behind him is an opportunity with high potential, but also high risk for a pitcher who has battled health issues.
This time last year, there was talk that the Yankees had one of the best rotations in the game.
Instead, Cole and Clark Schmidt were the last remaining players as the rotation collapsed as Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortez, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas all battled season-ending injuries.
Rodon and Cortez are returning from that group, had strong offseasons by all accounts, and should have an even better chance of success in 2024.
But now they have to go out and prove they can stay healthy for a year.
The Yankees are also counting on clean seasons from Marcus Stroman, who battled injuries late last year, and Schmidt, who returns with the heaviest workload of his career.
“Health is obviously going to be the most important factor,” general manager Brian Cashman said of the rotation. “If we can keep them healthy, they should be able to pitch with anybody. But health is always the big key.
“So far it seems like everyone is putting in a lot of effort for the end game. I hope they’re in a position to stay healthy.”
Cole was full of praise for Stroman’s command, whom he praised throughout the field as “one of the tallest, fiercest competitors in the game.”
He said Stroman’s approach as a ground ball pitcher gives the rotation a different look, “which I think is important.”
As for Rodon, Cole said he expects the left-hander to “approach his job as professionally as he does,” noting that he has been training in Tampa for more than a month. did.
Rodon didn’t return from spring training last year until suffering an injury, which set the tone for his first season in pinstripes after signing a six-year, $162 million contract.
The Yankees acquired him as a strong No. 2 behind Cole, but he didn’t live up to expectations in his first year.
“I think we’d all be excited if he could get back to that peak form,” Cole said. “That being said, if he fights for us, we can win a lot of games because he’s a really great competitor and wants the ball. ‘s attributes are what I expect most from him and what I’ve already seen so far.”
Cole said of the rotation as a whole, “There’s a lot of potential” and “certainly some hungry talent.”
But he will also need to be healthy to provide a strong supporting cast behind Cole.
“You can score all you want, but the pitcher is always the key to the kingdom,” Cashman said. “Especially teams that have success in the postseason want to go.”
