Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Gerrit Cole Tests Positive For COVID-19

New York Yankees SP Gerrit Cole has tested positive for COVID-19. Cole will not make his scheduled start against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium Tuesday

Max Goodman

NEW YORK — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has tested positive for COVID-19, manager Aaron Boone revealed Monday night.

Cole was scheduled to start Tuesday night's game against the Orioles. Now, Boone expects lefty Nestor Cortes to get the nod.

New York has already worked through two different COVID-19 outbreaks within the organization this season and while Cole is currently the only player to test positive, per Boone, that could change in the coming days. 

Emerging from the All-Star break last month, the Yankees had six different players test positive for the virus, a group that included Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela, Jonathan Loaisiga and Cortes. All six individuals that were touched by that spike within the team have since rejoined the club.

Cole was coming off one of the worst starts of his career, allowing eight runs to the Rays at Tropicana Field in a 14-0 drubbing. New York responded with a sweep against the Marlins in their next three games, but after a lifeless performance to open the homestand against the Orioles on Monday night, the Bombers certainly could've used Cole's services to stop one bad loss from bleeding into a poor stretch. 

Boone said he found out about Cole's diagnosis during the second inning of Monday night's game. Therefore, he was unable to provide any additional information about what Cole's case means for his club going forward. 

As has been the case with the other players that have tested positive within the organization over the last several months, however, Cole will undoubtedly land on the COVID-19 injured list, keeping him on the sidelines until he clears the league's health and safety protocols. 

MORE:

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

Published
Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

Home/News