Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is projected to miss at least a month of the regular season due to a right elbow injury, even though no ulnar collateral ligament damage has been found.

The manager of the Yankees, Aaron Boone, stated that Cole is expected to go through further expert testing in California and that no specific return date has been set.

Cole, who was unanimously selected to receive the AL Cy Young Award the previous season, revealed that he had trouble recovering between outings and had an MRI on Monday. He compared the level of exhaustion to what he would typically experience following a 100-pitch outing in the regular season.

Boone revealed the team no longer anticipates Cole to start on Opening Day, therefore Cole had more testing on Tuesday, including X-rays and a CT scan. This will end Cole's run of four straight Opening Day starts. Prior to the 2020 season, Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million dollar contract.

The right-hander has been incredibly healthy since joining the Yankees; his only injuries were a left hamstring strain and a brief period on the COVID-19 injured list in 2021. In 2016, during Cole's time with the Pirates, he was last placed on the injured list due to a right elbow injury.

This spring, Cole only made one start in the Grapefruit League, against the Blue Jays on March 1. Instead of pitching against the Tigers in an evening game on March 7, he chose to pitch under simulated conditions that afternoon. He only threw 47 pitches that day.

Marcus Stroman may start the Yankees' season opener in Houston on March 28 against the Astros due to Cole's unavailability.  

In order to fill the position of No. 5 starter, Boone said that there are "probably four or five candidates" in camp. These candidates are most likely Clayton Beeter, Luis Gil, Cody Poteet, Will Warren, and Luke Weaver.

The story is still evolving, so it's hard to say the extent of Cole's elbow is at this point. or the duration of his absence.