Yankees Fans Hold Breath As Cy Young Winner Gets MRI On Elbow

The New York Yankees were derailed by injuries in 2023, and the new season might hang on imaging for ace pitcher Gerrit Cole.

Cole will undergo an MRI on his right elbow, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Monday at spring training. According to Boone, Cole hasn't been able to recover the way he wanted in between outings this spring, and it's apparently at a point where the team wants to get it looked at.

If Cole misses any time, that's a significant blow for New York. The 33-year-old is one of the best pitchers in baseball and is coming off another sensational season. Cole won his first Cy Young Award in 2023, going 15-4 with a 2.63 in 33 starts while logging a league-best 209 innings. Cole limited opponents to a 0.981 WHIP -- the best mark in the majors -- despite seeing his strikeout numbers suffer a slight dip.

He has been an absolute horse for New York since signing before the 2020 season, making at least 30 starts in each non-shortened season. No one has logged more innings since Cole joined the Yankees on a nine-year, $324 million deal. No pitcher has pitched more innings than Cole since 2015, and Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke are the only active starters to have pitched more throughout his entire career.