The news every New York Yankees fan was afraid of finally arrived on Monday night, when word broke that ace Gerrit Cole would in fact need to undergo Tommy John surgery after experiencing elbow discomfort over the weekend. It's a massive blow for New York, which had already weathered multiple major injuries to key players this spring that could derail its hopes of another AL pennant run before it even gets off the ground.
It's also a massive blow for Cole, whose future is now more than a little in doubt in the wake of this news. Even in the best-case scenario, the righty will be nearly 36 the next time he takes a Major League mound, and it remains to be seen just what this injury will do to an arsenal that had already begun to decline over the last couple of years. Cole is still searching for his first World Series ring, and now both that and his Hall of Fame hopes have put in jeopardy.
Unsurprisingly, Cole seems to be taking this development pretty hard. But in true Gerrit Cole, fashion, he's not backing down, responding in a way that should hit every Yankees fan right in the feels.
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Gerrit Cole offers heartbreaking response to news of Tommy John surgery
It didn't take long for Cole to post a statement to his Instagram account, confirming that he would in fact be undergoing Tommy John surgery while also trying to stay as upbeat as possible.
"From the time I first dreamed of wearing the Yankees uniform, my goal has always been to help bring a World Series championship to New York," Cole wrote on his Instagram account. "That dream hasn’t changed — I still believe in it, and I’m more determined than ever to achieve it."
Cole referred to the surgery as simply "the necessary next step in my career," holding out plenty of hope that he'll be back at the top of the Yankees rotation in the future. "I have a lot left to give, and I'm fully committed to the work ahead," he concluded. "I love this game, I love competing, and I can't wait to be back on the mound — stronger than ever."
Nothing Cole could say would've eased the sting of losing him for a year-plus, especially given all the other angst surrounding this offseason for Yankees fans. But Tommy John also isn't the death sentence it once was, and if anybody is going to come back from this as strong or stronger, it's Cole.