Yankees Open 2026 Season Without Gerrit Cole on IL

The New York Yankees opened the 2026 Major League Baseball season on Wednesday without ace Gerrit Cole and several other key contributors, placing the 35-year-old right-hander on the 15-day injured list ahead of their matchup against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

Cole, the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner, underwent Tommy John surgery on March 11, 2025, performed by Los Angeles Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal Elattrache. By opting for the 15-day injured list rather than the 60-day version, the Yankees preserved flexibility for his return, potentially as early as early May under his planned 14-to-18-month recovery timeline. In his second and final spring training outing on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Arizona, Cole pitched 1 2/3 innings, striking out three batters and allowing one run on a solo home run by Alex Bregman. He threw 26 pitches, averaging 96.2 miles per hour on his fastball, which topped out at 98 mph.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed optimism about Cole's progress. "I thought he was sharp," Boone said after the exhibition game, an 8-3 win over the Cubs. "I thought he was good, I thought he was in control, and it's another good...