Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is undergoing tests on his throwing elbow after experiencing some discomfort, as first reported by Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Cole, of course, was roughed up during his last outing on Thursday afternoon against the Twins — allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits and two homers in just 2.2 innings of work.
The team will know more about his status in the next few days.
Either way, this certainly is not encouraging news for Cole, who missed a couple of months at the beginning of last season with an elbow issue.
The right-hander was forced to undergo testing around this time last year as he was having a hard time recovering in between throwing sessions — and he ended up being shut down for a month.
He began the year on the 60-day injured list and wouldn’t make his regular season debut until mid-June.
Cole went on to pitch to a 3.47 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while striking out 99 batters in 17 outings.
If he were forced to be sidelined again, it would be a huge blow for a Yankees rotation that is already dipping into their depth with reigning Rookie of the Year award winner Luis Gil set to miss a significant amount of time with a high-grade lat strain.
Marcus Stroman, who gave up just one run in three innings of work on Friday, is expected to take Gil’s place so youngster Will Warren would likely be the next man up. He has enjoyed himself a strong start to the spring thus far, striking out 11 hitters in just three appearances.
