Yankees make series of moves to finalize roster and drop exciting Opening Day lineup
on Thursday on the road against the Houston Astros in a matchup that should excite the general MLB landscape. These teams are rivals and have championship aspirations.
Yankees fans have been waiting for the last-minute decisions the team was set to make to finalize the Opening Day roster, when Brian Cashman imported Jon Berti from the Miami Marlins.
But there weren’t any formal announcements until Thursday. The Yankees announced a series of roster moves to finalize the group of 26 players they would be bringing to Houston, and there weren’t many surprises outside of the IL assignments.
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The Yankees placed Gerrit Cole on the 60-day IL and Oswald Peraza on the 15-day IL. Fans initially suspected that would be flipped because Cole’s expected to miss 1-2 months while Peraza is likely going to be shut down for two months, meaning he’s probably out for at least 2.5-3 months.
Perhaps they’re giving themselves flexibility with Peraza because he had more time to rest than Cole? Perhaps they’re just not going to mess with rushing Cole back and want him out for as long as possible to let his inflammation calm down? Either way, the news is official.
We do have one surprise, though! Jahmai Jones, who many thought were getting squeezed off the roster after the Berti trade, will be making the trip to Houston. Fans suspected the Yankees would be more inclined to carry an extra pitcher because of the injuries to the staff, but Jones will be on the bench with Berti, Trent Grisham and Austin Wells/Jose Trevino.
On Thursday, the New York Yankees finalized everything as they got ready to take on the Astros in Houston on Opening Day. The 26-man roster was set. The first lineup of the year was revealed. And injured list designations were revealed.
The Yankees, unsurprisingly, placed a million players on the injured list, with Gerrit Cole headlining the group, landing on the 60-day IL. The reigning AL Cy Young winner is dealing with elbow inflammation and was expected to miss 1-2 months to kick off the year.
Cole hasn’t pitched since March 1 so that led many fans to believe the beginning of May as a realistic timetable for return. But, remember, that would’ve been the absolute best-case scenario, which never happens for the Yankees.
On March 16, Cole was shut down for 3-4 weeks, which meant he wouldn’t be doing any throwing whatsoever until mid-April. After that, he’d ease his way back into his usual program. After that, he’d face live hitters and play in simulated games. After that, he’d go on a lengthy rehab assignment.
And that second half of the recovery process would also probably take around a month, leaving him out until mid-May at the earliest — again, assuming everything goes perfectly.
Gerrit Cole injury news doesn’t warrant an overreaction from Yankees fans
Cole opening the season on the 60-Day IL puts him on track to return on May 27, which surprised some fans, who believed maybe the injury news was worse than the team initially expected. But in reality, this is just a more cautious way of handling the Yankees’ most prized pitching possession.
Even if Cole is ready by mid-May, it’s not worthwhile in any capacity to get him back on the field as soon as possible. Ensuring he has extensive rest (which will be nearly three months once he’s eligible to return) is the best course of action. If Cole has to throw a few extra simulated games or participate in a couple extra rehab assignments, then so be it.
And even so, Yankees reporters have reiterated that this timeline of late May/early June was expected all along.
There might’ve been some wishful thinking among fans because the Yankees didn’t get the worst-case scenario on Cole’s elbow earlier in March. But we’re still in a holding pattern. There’s no telling what the inflammation will look like in a few weeks. There’s no guarantee Cole begins throwing again come mid-April.
We’ll continue to remain cautiously optimistic, but there’s no reason to be bent out of shape with the 60-day IL diagnosis. Unlike Luis Severino, Cole can read a calendar, and he likely understands the reasoning.
