Gerrit Cole blasts MLBPA and MLB both for how pitching injuries have been handled

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole remains on the mend, as he's set to return from an elbow injury by early June, or so fans hope. Cole started a throwing program early this week, which is an encouraging sign in his overall recovery.

However, as Cole is working through his own recovery, there's a war of words brewing the MLB and MLBPA. Tony Clark has alleged that implementing new rules like the pitch clock has only accelerated the rate of pitcher injuries, while Rob Manfred harshly disagrees.

"Despite unanimous player opposition and significant concerns regarding health and safety, the Commissioner's Office reduced the length of the pitch clock last December just one season removed from imposing the most significant rule change in decades...Despite unanimous player opposition and significant concerns regarding health and safety, the Commissioner's Office reduced the length of the pitch clock last December just one season removed from imposing the most significant rule change in decades," Clark wrote.

MLB responded with its own statement, calling Clark's accusations a gross mischaracterization of the injury issue at hand.

Gerrit Cole is fed up with MLB, MLBPA argument

Cole, for one, has had enough. As starting pitchers like Shane Bieber, Eury Perez and perhaps even Spencer Strider miss significant time, the Yankees ace wants baseball's two parents to stop fighting, for once.

"I'm just frustrated it's a combative issue," Cole said. "It's like, 'OK, we have divorced parents and the child's misbehaving and we can't get on the same page to get the child to behave.' Not that the players are misbehaving, but we have an issue here and we need to get on the same page to at least try and fix it."

Cole also argued that dismissing the pitch clock as one of the potential causes is unhelpful from MLB's standpoint, though he isn't a fan of how combative MLBPA has been on the issue.

"I think it's just irresponsible for either side to say any one of those things definitely has no impact on pitchers' elbows or shoulders," Cole said. "That's not helpful."

He's right, and as the defending AL Cy Young winner, perhaps MLB and MLBPA should listen rather than tossing insults across the aisle for once.