Gerrit Cole handles pitching with a seriousness, precision, and expertise similar to how world-renowned neurosurgeons do it in their profession.
So it’s no wonder that when he took a big step toward returning to a major league mound, in this case pitching, he held a Matrix-like debrief. 25 pitches. From 60 feet. He recorded that 22 of them were ideally delivered to the chest of his catching partner. At 111 miles per hour.
Cole followed that up with the best 15-minute TED talk anyone’s likely to give on the pitcher injury crisis. Packed with thoughtful details that provide insight, compassion, and his 360-degree perspective on issues. For more specifics, check out my colleague Dan Martin’s story or my Tuesday morning column on Post+, but suffice it to say that Cole is to pitching what Stephen Curry is to shooting. like this. So if MLB were to seek his insight as part of an ongoing large-scale investigation due to lingering bad feelings stemming from the Major League Baseball Players Association’s large role during the last labor shutdown, If not, it would be narrow-minded, short-sighted, and never appropriate. An adult is required in the room.
Cole had 25 pitches from 60 feet. Because even the seemingly invincible right-hand man is falling into the trap of this trend. He will be sidelined for at least two months due to nerve inflammation in his elbow. It was fitting that Cole called the night of the NCAA men’s basketball finals “a really good day.” This is because the key to this season’s success will be whether the Yankees can survive and advance until their ace returns.
“It’s like holding the fort while we wait for our key players to come back. Cole is obviously our key player,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “And so far, it’s been going really well.”
That’s because the Yankees made their third start in the rotation on Monday without any further injuries or breakdowns of starters. And Nestor Cortez got off to the best start in 2024 by defeating the lowly Marlins 7-0.
Juan Soto hit a three-run homer, and Anthony Volpe was once again the best player on the field with two more great defense plays and a three-run homer of his own. Volpe’s home runs come from one-twos, and he has eight hits in 23 at bats this year (.345 batting average) with two strikes. Last season, he had a meager 33 hits in 308 at-bats, and his average batting average of .107 was the fifth-worst among the 203 players with at least 200 at-bats and two or more strikes.
But Volpe, despite being better than two-way, wasn’t the most important Yankee on Monday.
Aaron Boone didn’t want to say it before the game, but he admitted after the game that he needed some length from the starters to protect a burdened pen. As Cortez said, he “couldn’t win in five innings.” He thus became the first Yankees starter other than Gerrit Cole to pitch eight scoreless innings since Domingo German pitched a perfect game on June 28 of last year.
“As a staff, we feel that way,” Cortez said of Cole picking himself up during a downturn. “He’s our best pitcher, probably the best pitcher in the game. He was our automatic ‘W’ last year. So he has to pick up that slack as a staff member. he has to be better. Until he comes back, we have to hold our own and make sure we can help win games. ”
When Cole started the 2023 AL Cy Young season, the Yankees were 23-10. When he wasn’t, they were 59-70 years old. So the AL’s best 9-2 record to start the season without Cole makes sense. The starting quintet has an ERA of 2.78, which is about the same as Cole’s ERA last year (2.63).
Those numbers were clearly helped by Cortes’ eight shutout innings on Monday, which coincided with the 2024 Giants debut of Blake Snell, who the Yankees did not sign despite Cole’s injury. Not only did Cortez not give any batters a walk, the left-hander also failed to reach the ball count by three balls. He used an effective changeup against the Marlins’ overly aggressive batters, and his fastball was accurate.
There’s been a lot of debate in recent days about whether or not throwing every pitch to its maximum potential is at the heart of many pitching disorders, but Cortez’s fastball averaged less than 90 mph (89.9 mph). It was overwhelming. He said it wasn’t intentional. He was not injured. He was just cold and couldn’t fully release. But Cortez and Marcus Stroman have something that very few pitchers have today: art and skill in their games. Add and subtract, dazzle with multiple angles and different pitches.
That’s no guarantee of health — both missed significant time with injuries last season. But this shows that success in the modern game is not strictly dependent on giving your all on every pitch.
And the Yankees need them, plus Carlos Rodon, Clark Schmidt and Luis Gil. It will take at least 12 rotations before Cole is eligible to return. But let me remind you that Cortez, Stroman, and Rodon have all been named All-Stars within the last two seasons. They have a pedigree. And now they have a responsibility.
Survive and advance until you reach the call.
