NEW YORK (PIX11) -- Can you sense and feel the fear permeating from the Bronx and the Yankees organization right now?
With news Tuesday that ace and reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole is going for more testing on his right elbow after undergoing an MRI yesterday, the Yankees season is staring right over that cliff right now.
For a rotation that was an upper-echelon pitcher short, to begin with, they can not lose Cole for an extended period of time.
Couple this news, with the fact that Aaron Judge is dealing with some sort of abdominal issue, all the positivity surrounding the Yankees has taken a complete turn.
For Cole, he has changed the narrative of his run with the Yankees, which is difficult to do in this city. But when the staff behind him is Carlos Rodon, who was a disaster last season. Marcus Stroman, who is combustible, and his performances at Yankee Stadium are not ideal. Nestor Cortes, who has had one really good season and then the unproven potential of Clark Schmidt, well, now you know the importance of Cole.
He needs to be the steady, reliable ace he is paid to be. The Yankees' offense can compensate for deficiencies in the rotation, and the bullpen can cover up some warts as well, but that would only last so long if Cole were to be out for a significant period of time.
You could undoubtedly argue that the latest battery of tests and the results generated will significantly affect the expectations for the Yankees this season.
Often in life, you hear that everyone is replaceable. For the Yankees, this 2024 season, you cannot replace the production of Gerrit Cole.
He is that important and that good. Cross your fingers, grab the rabbit's foot, and hope for the best. He will not be there for Opening Day, and it better not be longer than that because Gerrit Cole is irreplaceable.
Until next time, New York, I'm Marc Malusis.