New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole will be sidelined for all of 2025 after a spring training injury that has resulted in Tommy John surgery, and it will probably keep him out for the early stages of 2026, as well.

Here’s the thing: Cole suffered a very similar elbow injury last March, but ultimately chose rest over surgery, returning and June and pitching to the tune of a 3.41 ERA over 17 starts.

But is it possible the Yankees knew there was a chance that the 34-year-old could potentially be shelved this year?

Thomas Carannante of Yanks Go Yard seems to believe so, suggesting that New York signed fellow pitcher Max Fried to a massive contract in free agency because it had fears that Cole was on thin ice.

“Is it possible the Yankees went the extra mile with Fried and gave him a record-setting contract for a free agent left-handed starter because they foresaw potential doom with Cole and figured Fried would earn his paycheck filling in as the No. 1 starter for portions of 2025 and into 2026?” Carannante wrote. “It’s worth pondering, especially after finding out the Yankees have insurance on Cole’s contract.”

Fried was one of the biggest signings of the offseason and is an ace in his own right, as he is coming off of a 2024 campaign with the Atlanta Braves in which he went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA while allowing 146 hits and registering 166 strikeouts over 174.1 innings of work.

However, the Yankees’ plan was obviously to roll with a dynamic one-two punch of Cole and Fried at the top of their rotation. Now, though, it’s looking like Fried will be their No. 1.

Not only that, but New York will also be without Luis Gil for a few months as a result of a lat strain.

So yeah: it hasn’t exactly been a great March for the Yankees, who were entering 2025 with World Series aspirations but now may struggle to even make the playoffs, especially with Giancarlo Stanton also sidelined indefinitely.

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