While the return of Gerrit Cole sounds to be the best the Yankees can get, let’s not get carried away! Yes, the Yankees’ one of the biggest obstacles has been losing Cole due to injury. He was initially projected to be a mainstay of the rotation, but his need for Tommy John surgery has kept him out of commission indefinitely. And now, while others are prepping to fill his void, a news update about Cole’s return, sooner than expected, is spreading like wildfire. A ray of hope, indeed!

“From the time I first dreamed of wearing the Yankees uniform, my goal has always been to help bring a World Series championship to New York,“ Cole said on his season-ending TJ surgery. “That dream hasn’t changed – I still believe in it, and I’m more determined than ever to achieve it.“

While he sounded confident about his return, it was reportedly about to take the entire 2025 for him to come back to the field. Then, what about his potential return by September? Yes, that’s what MLB reporter Mark Feinsand posted. Or did he?

“HOLY S— WORLD SERIES BACK ON,” MLB enthusiast JL replied to what seemed like a post from Mark Feinsand. Well, it was nothing but an April Fools’ Day post from JL.

Nothing about this post was true. Because as official reports suggest, Cole will undergo a season-ending TJ surgery and will be out of the team for the whole of 2025. While the Bronx Bombers haven’t yet announced a definite timeline for his return, generally, it takes around 1 year to 18 months to recover fully.

The 34-year-old was uneasy after a rough Grapefruit League start. Cole said he was “concerned” about the first set of diagnostic imaging. For the unversed, Cole has experienced an injury problem for the second straight spring. In March of last year, he was sidelined due to inflammation in his right elbow. It caused him to miss his regular-season debut until June.

So, now, for the best results, we can only hope that Gerrit Cole takes his own sweet time to recover and join the team next season in full form. Wish for his comeback by the 2026 opening day perhaps?

But despite everything, Cole’s 99 strikeouts and 3.41 ERA in 2024 are too hard for the Yankees to get a sound replacement.

Cole’s absence made the Yankees gasping for a replacement 

The projected 6th starter of the Yankees, and now the 3rd in the rotation, Marcus Stroman is the man of the hour. His right arm might be crucial to the Yanks’ success in 2025. This is amazing considering that the franchise was trying to trade him only a few months prior. Then, against his desire, Stroman was sent to the bullpen at the beginning of spring training in late February. While starting as the sixth in the rotation, Stroman became the Yankees’ top priority after Gerrit Cole’s injury.

Nothing extraordinary, but he is going impressive in the regular season with a 5.79 ERA and 3 strikeouts. Enough to replace Cole? The next few months can answer.

The Yankees also fielded the veteran Mark Leiter Jr. as a stop-gap solution to their devastated starting rotation. But that ended up with a worse outcome.

The winning spree of the pinstripes this year just came to a sudden halt against the D-Backs, mostly due to Leiter surrendering an 8th inning grand slam. The D-Backs hitter got just enough of Leiter’s hanging splitter to put it in the front row of the left-field seats, giving the team a 7–4 edge.

Then there is Will Warren, as well, whose MLB career did not get off to the finest start either. Over five innings, he held the Diamondbacks to two runs on a single hit. Not a good sign for the Yankees going ahead.

The first week of the regular season proved the stacked batting lineup of the Yankees, while their pitching division is yet to get out of Gerrit Cole’s impact. With a few names like Tony Gonsolin being rumored to be on the team’s radar, their pitching squad urgently needs replenishment. Do you have any idea for a suitable alternative?