New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole won’t throw for three to four weeks because of nerve irritation and edema in his throwing elbow.
“I think we’ve determined that we just got a little too hot a little too quick,” Cole said before Saturday’s game against Toronto. “I just got to a certain point where we just didn’t hit baseline and recovery. That’s important at this time of the year.”
Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said if the team needed a 40-man roster spot that Cole would be placed on the 60-day injured list, which means the earliest the AL Cy Young award winner could be back is late May. The right-hander will need a spring training-like period after he resumes throwing before rejoining the team.
“I feel really comfortable based on all the feedback and the experts that were involved in deciding to go (with) rest,” Cashman said. “Best-case scenario we wouldn’t be dealing with anything, right? But second-best case, right?
The Yankees disclosed Monday that Cole was experiencing issues bouncing back following spring training starts.
The 33-year-old traveled to Los Angeles to be examined by Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an elbow expert.
“It’s not a common experience for me,” Cole said. “I haven’t really dealt with anything like this before. So anytime you’re going through something for the first time, there’s a little bit of uncertainty, but I had a lot of faith. I felt good leaving the doctor, yeah.”
Cole returned to Tampa on Friday.
Nestor Cortes will start the March 28 opener at Houston in place of Cole.
ATHLETICS: Third baseman J.D. Davis and Oakland finalized a $2.5 million, one-year contract on Saturday, a deal that allows him to earn $1 million more in performance bonuses.
Davis would get $100,000 each for 250 and 350 plate appearances, $150,000 apiece for 400 and 450 and $250,000 each for 500 and 550. He receives an additional $1,112,903 in termination pay from the San Francisco Giants, which is 30 days salary from the $6.9 million, one-year deal he won in salary arbitration.
GUARDIANS: Manager Stephen Vogt said reliever Sam Hentges will be shut down for a few days while the team gathers more information on his swollen left middle finger.
Hentges’ injury is the latest for the Guardians, who announced earlier this week that reliever Trevor Stephan and top prospect Daniel Espino will undergo season-ending surgeries and starter Gavin Williams will begin the season on the injured list with a sore elbow.
KOLE CALHOUN, a Gold Glove-winning outfielder during a 12-year career with the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rangers and Guardians, says he is retiring.
Calhoun, 36, was an eighth-round draft choice by the Angels in 2010 who was a lifetime .242 hitter with 179 homers and 582 RBI. He won a Gold Glove for the Angels in 2015, when he also hit a career-high 26 homers. He was third in the NL with 16 homers in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
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