Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is missing the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery but the procedure also includes an internal brace.
Now, while there is a UCL procedure that uses an internal brace instead of the traditional Tommy John surgery, a Yankees spokesman told The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty that Cole had full UCL reconstruction surgery in addition to the internal brace.
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.
So, as of now, Cole’s return could be held off until a few months into the 2026 season.
If Cole were to miss the start of the 2026 season, the ace and Yankees are accustomed to that as well. Cole misseed roughly the first three months of the 2024 season with inflammation in his right elbow but returned to pitch with a 3.41 ERA across 95 innings over 17 starts when he returned in June. However, the Yankees will have to find a way to navigate this year without their ace and Luis Gil for a stretch as the reigning AL Rookie of the Year deals with an oblique strain.
Without Cole and Gil, the Yankees’ starting rotation will include Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Marcus Stroman, with the No. 5 spot on the starting staff likely coming down to Will Warren, Allan Winans, or Carlos Carrasco.
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