Evaluating the Yankees' options after Gerrit Cole's season-ending injury

There's no sugarcoating it: This is the New York Yankees' doomsday scenario. 

Gerrit Cole will undergo Tommy John surgery on his ailing right elbow, the Yankees announced on Monday. The veteran ace will miss the entirety of the 2025 season and a solid chunk of the 2026 season, leaving a monumental void in the Yankees rotation just a couple of weeks before the team is poised to defend its American League pennant. Cole will undergo the procedure on Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. 

"I have a lot left to give, and I'm fully committed to the work ahead," Cole wrote in an Instagram post. "I'll attack my rehab every day and support the 2025 Yankees each step of the way. I love this game, I love competing, and I can't wait to be back on the mound — stronger than ever."

The fire alarm went off last Thursday when Cole allowed six earned runs, including a pair of home runs, across just 2.2 innings in his second spring training start of the year. Though his slight drop in velocity wasn't too concerning, Cole's complete lack of command and complaints of alarming pain signaled that something was amiss.

Initial imaging suggested Cole would need surgery for his elbow and, over the weekend, a trip to Los Angeles for a second opinion confirmed it. This is the second consecutive year Cole, 34, will miss significant time due to his right elbow. He dealt with elbow inflammation last March, but was able to overcome the nerve-related injury through rest and rehab before rejoining the Yankees in June and staying fully healthy through their run to the Fall Classic. But lightning won't strike twice for the Yankees and their ace. 

It's a devastating blow to the Yankees rotation and an enormous hit to the club's