With the injuries piling up in spring training, with the latest being Gerrit Cole’s season-ending Tommy John surgery, the question on everyone’s mind in New York Yankees’ camp is how do we replace the superstar right-hander?
When healthy, Cole is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Cole, 34, is coming off a season in which he posted a 3.41 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 95 innings. In 12 seasons, he posted a 3.18 ERA and 2251 strikeouts in 1954 innings where he won a Cy Young Award and six All-Star teams.
Put simply, there’s no replacing Cole. Not at the beginning of the offseason. Not in the middle of the offseason. Especially not now, with Opening Day right around the corner.
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Yankees external Gerrit Cole replacements are few and far between
The external options are not promising, with veterans Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Drew Smyly among the remaining free agents. Gibson, 37, posted a 4.24 ERA in 169.2 innings and would represent an option capable of eating quality innings. Lynn, 37, also represents an option capable of eating innings, though he’s been linked to a potential bullpen role in reports this winter. Smyly, meanwhile, has generated almost zero buzz this winter after posting a 3.84 ERA in 58.2 innings last season with the Chicago Cubs.
Then there’s the trade market, where rival executives admit the pickings are very slim. All offseason, the Padres were listening to inquiries on right-hander Dylan Cease. But team officials have made it clear that they want to go into Opening Day with both Cease and Michael King, essentially taking them out of the trade market.
One possibility is the St. Louis Cardinals’ Erick Fedde. He established himself with the Chicago White Sox last season, prompting him to be one of the most coveted names on the trade market. He struggled after the trade to St. Louis and considering the Cardinals’ desire to shed salary and give their young players an opportunity, Fedde could make sense for the Yankees.
But Fedde is scheduled to earn $7.5 million in 2025 and considering that the Yankees have little money available, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post told me on The Baseball Insiders, a match between New York and St. Louis on a trade for the right-hander could prove difficult.
The most likely option has always been the Yankees either 1) going with what they have internally or 2) making a minor move, whether that be a small trade or signing a player who opts out of their non-roster contract with another team.
If the Yankees thought replacing Juan Soto was tough, replacing Cole is going to prove especially difficult. Having to replace both in the same offseason is borderline impossible and places the franchise directly behind the eight ball before Opening Day even gets here.