3 players New York Yankees could make a move for following season-ending injury to Gerrit Cole

On Monday, the New York Yankees received a massive blow to their aspirations of reaching another World Series as news regarding the future of Gerrit Cole came out. The ace pitcher of the team will undergo the Tommy John surgery which will keep him out for the entire 2025 season.

The 34-year-old pitcher took part in his team’s Grapefruit League game last Thursday. During this, he would experience some discomfort in his elbow and would undergo further diagnostics to determine what was bugging him.

It was later revealed that Cole would require the Tommy John surgery. After seeking other options, the 2023 Cy Young Award winner took to his Instagram on Monday evening and informed that he will undergo this surgery.

This comes as a massive blow for the Yankees as Cole was expected to lead the pitching rotation alongside Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman. This injury to him also comes at a time when the team lost another starting pitcher, Luis Gil to injury. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year will be out for around 3 months.

While Gil will eventually return to the rotation, Cole is shut down for the 2025 season. The timing of this injury does give the Yankees a chance to explore other potential options.

1) Sandy Alcantara

If there is one like-to-like or let’s say ace-to-ace replacement, then its Sandy Alcantara. The Miami Marlins star won the Cy Young Award in 2022 after having a dominating season from the mound. He did have an off year in 2023 before missing the 2024 season due to the Tommy John surgery.

As per insider Mike Rodriguez, Alcantara is one name that the Yankees have an interest him. The 29-year-old is on the radar of every team. While his 5-year deal with the Marlins will end after the 2026 season, there are rumors of him being traded before the deadline this season.

Alcantara is owed $17.3 million for the 2025 and the 2026 season. He also has a club option of $21 million for the 2027 season. Apart from this, the Marlins have traded away some of their big stars in the past to rebuild their squad with younger prospects.

Last year only they traded away Luis Arraez and Jazz Chisholm Jr., both who owed comparatively less then Alcantara. At the moment the odds are low for a trade move to happen between the Yankees and the Marlins for him. However, if the Yankees were to go for one player, it would likely be him.

2) Dylan Cease

If there is another big name that the New York Yankees could move for to replace Gerrit Cole is Dylan Cease. He was one name the Bronx Bombers were looking for in 2024. Ultimately, they missed out on him as the Chicago White Sox traded him to the San Diego Padres.

Cease is currently under the club control until the 2025 season. This means that he will become a free agent once the season comes to an end. While the Padres could try to lock him down to a big contract extension, they also face the danger of losing him for free.

This could allow the Yankees to go for him even if it’s for one year. In the 2023 offseason, they acquired Juan Soto from the Padres, who went to spend one season with the Yanks before becoming a free agent and landing the biggest deal in MLB history with the city rivals of the Yankees.

There are chances that this could happen in a trade deal for Cease as well. However, compared to their other pitching options, Cease has some good numbers. He went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA last year and managed to pick up 224 strikeouts.

He has also finished in the top 5 of the Cy Young Award rankings in 2022 and 2024. At the moment, he will receive $13.75 million for the 2025 season. With the Yankees owing around $17 million to Marcus Stroman, they could get into trade talks with the Padres regarding him and Cease.

3) Erick Fedde

While Erick Fedde might not be the most eye-catching name in this list, but is one of the most affordable ones for the New York Yankees. The St. Louis Cardinals acquired Fedde from the Chicago White Sox last year in a three-way deal which also included the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After spending half the season with 2024 White Sox, Fedde spent the remaining year with the Cardinals. Surprisingly, he had better numbers (7-4 with 3.11 ERA) with the White Sox than the Cardinals (2-5 with 3.72 ERA).

Fedde is set to make $7.5 million in the 2025. Just like Cease he will also enter free agency after the 2025 season comes to an end. This could tempt the Yankees to go for him and bring his right-arm to their rotation in exchange for a few prospects which could helps the Cardinals in their rebuild.

If the Yankees do not make any trade moves, what options do they have? Non-roster invitees for the Spring Training, Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans could be in the mix for that one starting pitcher. They could even use rookie Will Warren as an option if needed.