Yankees' Gerrit Cole 'Concerned' Ahead of Testing on Elbow amid Injury Concern

After a rough outing in Thursday's spring training loss to the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is set to have his pitching elbow examined.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, Cole will undergo diagnostic tests with full results expected in a couple of days to determine his status for the start of the regular season. Cole confirmed the testing to reporters on Saturday, saying he's "hopeful" but "concerned."

Cole got hit around against the Twins, allowing six runs on five hits (two homers) in 2.2 innings.

There was nothing obvious as far as Cole's velocity to suggest anything was wrong. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch noted Cole's fastball averaged 95.7 mph and touched 97.6 mph.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Cole said he felt he had too much "horsepower" in that start.

Thursday was Cole's second appearance of the spring. His debut on Feb. 28 against the Toronto Blue Jays looked like a vintage performance with one run allowed and five strikeouts in 3.1 innings.

This is the second consecutive year that Cole has had an elbow-related injury scare in spring training. He missed more than two months last year after being diagnosed with nerve inflammation and edema.

Cole returned to action on June 19 and pitched well, though not quite up to normal standards. The six-time All-Star finished with a 3.41 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 95 innings. He was better in the playoffs with a 2.17 ERA in five starts.

The Yankees are already going to start the season short-handed in the rotation with 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil expected to miss three months with a strained lat.

Losing Cole for any length of time would be another huge blow to the Yankees in their quest to get back to the World Series.

Max Fried, who signed an eight-year, $218 million contract in free agency, would likely get the start on Opening Day against the Milwaukee Brewers if Cole has to start the season on the injured list.