The Yankees are now staring down the barrel of a financial and roster disaster, with reports indicating that star pitcher Gerrit Cole could miss the entire 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery. What makes this situation even more frustrating is that there were signs this could happen, yet the Yankees still opted to lock Cole into the remainder of his contract instead of letting him walk in free agency.
Did the Yankees Ignore the Warning Signs?
Andy Martino of SNY reported that the Yankees had been concerned about Cole’s elbow for quite some time, dating back to last year. He suffered a flexor strain in his throwing arm during spring training in 2024, a clear indication that something was already wrong. While he managed to avoid surgery at the time, the writing was on the wall.
Cole returned and pitched 95 innings with a 3.41 ERA, proving he could still be effective, but it was clear he was pushing through discomfort.
The Yankees leaned on him in the playoffs, and while he gave them everything he had, the long-term concerns never disappeared. Now, with Tommy John surgery potentially ending his season before it even begins, the Yankees are looking at a worst-case scenario.
The Cost of Keeping Cole
The Yankees chose to void Cole’s opt-out this offseason, locking him in for the remainder of his deal at $36 million per season. That means he’s still owed $108 million over the next three years after 2025, a massive financial commitment for a pitcher who may never return to his Cy Young form. Oddly, the opt-out was supposed to add a 10th year to the deal, but both sides agreed to let the original deal play out. They had to know his elbow could explode at any given moment.
Had they let him walk, the Yankees would have freed up payroll and had the opportunity to reallocate those resources. Instead, they doubled down, believing they could still get several strong seasons out of him. Now, they’re left with an aging ace recovering from a surgery that often takes over a year to bounce back from, and even then, there are no guarantees he’ll be the same.
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A Risk That Didn’t Pay Off
Sometimes, teams have to make the difficult decision to let a hero walk away rather than holding on for too long. The Yankees got Cole’s best years, including a Cy Young campaign, but they might have been better off letting him test free agency instead of tying themselves to an uncertain future. Now, with their rotation in shambles and Cole likely done for the year, the Yankees have to pick up the pieces with limited options left on the market.