The Silver Lining on Gerrit Cole's Tommy John Surgery is Now Gone For New York Yankees

While Cole did have internal bracing done on his surgically-repaired elbow, he still had the typical Tommy John surgery.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) participates in spring training workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 15. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The good news was short lived.

We knew earlier this week that New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was destined for Tommy John surgery. However, once he had it, the news seemed to get a little better. It was initially reported that Cole had the "internal brace procedure" that shrinks recovery time and could have had him ready for Opening Day 2025, but that was only part of the story.

Cole did have the internal brace, but it was part of a full UCL reconstruction, meaning he's still out until midway through the 2026 season, which is a tough blow for him and for the Yankees.

Per SNY:

In this case, the internal brace is being used to fortify the elbow and the typical recovery timeframe stands.

The recovery time for Tommy Johns is typically 14-18 months. If Cole had the internal brace procedure and not the traditional UCL surgery, it would have shortened his recovery to around 12 months.

The 34-year-old Cole is one of the best pitchers of his era, having gone 153-80 over a 12-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and Yankees. A six-time All-Star, Cole won the American League Cy Young Award in 2023 and has won two ERA titles.

He dealt with elbow issues last season but returned to go 8-5 in 17 starts as the Yankees won the American League pennant. He pitched just 95 innings for the season, striking out 99.

The Yankees open up the regular season on March 27 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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