The Yankees are attempting to get whole, supplementing the MLB trade deadline with a few key returns from injury. The strategy has keyed a three-game winning streak so far, though it cannot be forgotten the Bombers were one strike away from dropping another heart-wrenching series in Boston before Trent Grisham delivered.
Unfortunately, injury recovery is never linear, and the Yankees learned that the hard way twice on Tuesday. Giancarlo Stanton, as part of a pre-planned ramp up, will not be starting after returning to action Monday; reportedly, he’ll DH again in the series finale Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia.
In a more concerning development, Gerrit Cole will miss Tuesday’s scheduled start, giving way to Will Warren for his MLB debut. This is news the Yankees probably didn’t want to get out while they were still pursuing Jack Flaherty.
The diagnosis is even stranger: “general body fatigue,” though if you watched Cole get rocked by the Mets in his most recent start, you probably perceived that something was off.
Gerrit Cole scratched for tonight’s start with general body fatigue. Will Warren will start #yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) July 30, 2024
It could be an illness. It could be that his body is bouncing back ineffectively. It could be “mid-summer beat up.” Either way, Cole provided an update before the Yankees could. He doesn’t intend to hit the IL or even undergo tests, and he claims it’s not his barking elbow. Cole, who was finding his stride a few weeks back against the Rays and Orioles, seemed to lose it once more during the Subway Series against his enemy/the team that has hit him hardest over the course of his career.
Gerrit Cole said he doesn’t expect to be placed on the IL. Not an arm issue but just wasn’t recovering well in between his last start. Could pitch in a few days. He’s mot scheduled to take any tests.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) July 30, 2024
Warren will get the ball for his MLB debut after losing out on the offseason fifth starter competition to Luis Gil. While that seems to have been the correct call, Warren can still employ his nasty sweeper against a Phillies lineup that was expecting a fatigued Cole. Despite plenty of struggles at the Triple-A level this season (a 6.11 ERA overall), Warren has righted the ship in his past two starts, allowing two earned runs in 11 innings while twirling 17 strikeouts.
We don’t know much, but we do know one thing: Warren isn’t getting traded tonight.
