Gerrit Cole will undergo an MRI on his right elbow after not rebounding from his spring training outings as he normally does, and Evan says Yankee fans should sign up for the ace missing the first month of the season.
Because the alternative could be a lot, lot worse.
“Even, ‘We’re gonna push him back and rest him for 2-3 weeks.’ In pitcher world, that’s a month,” Evan said. “If you’re a Yankee fan, as you get through these 48 hours of nerves, if he gets a clean bill of health where he’s back on the Yankee Stadium mound by May, you sign up for that.
“Just make sure he’s coming back relatively soon.”
Even if the MRI comes back clean, Evan believes Cole will be shut down to rest before having to go through a normal build-up. So, even in the best case scenario, Cole will likely miss time. But Evan says Yankee fans should take that outcome in a second.
“Let’s say it’s May 1,” Evan said. “It’s five starts. It’s five games.”