Yankees' ace Gerrit Cole recommended to have Tommy John surgery.

Cole, 34, was tagged for six runs and five hits in 2 2/3 innings during a spring training start against Minnesota on Thursday.

He told reporters that he felt good during the outing, but he got more and more sore after it was over.

Today, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports that Cole has been recommended for Tommy John surgery, though the Yankees are currently waiting to receive a second opinion to confirm that diagnosis.

The news is in line with reporting yesterday that indicated Cole was «concerned» about his elbow and that the righty was seeking a second opinion on the issue.

Cole told reporters, including one for MLB.com, that the imaging had been distributed, and he is waiting for second opinions on the injury.

If the diagnosis is confirmed, the Yankees would lose Cole for not only the 2025 season but likely at least some of the 2026 campaign as well.

Even if a second opinion suggests that Cole could rehab the issue rather than go under the knife, even a relatively minor elbow issue could wipe out much of Cole's 2025 campaign.

It was just last year that the veteran right-hander was sidelined by elbow inflammation for nearly three months at the start of the season and ultimately did not make his season debut until June 19.

While it's impossible to establish a timetable for Cole's return until the second opinion comes in and the Yankees announce more information about their veteran's status, even the most optimistic of estimates would likely leave Cole out of commission for around that long.

Last season, the Yankees were able to lean on the surprise contributions of eventual AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil to round out their rotation while Cole was absent.

They'll enjoy no such luxury this time around, as Gil is ticketed to miss multiple months himself due to a lat strain.

With Cole and Gil both seemingly ticketed for significant absences to open the 2025 campaign, a starting staff that was so overflowing with talent that the

Yankees opted to trade Nestor Cortes to the Brewers and aggressively shopped Marcus Stroman throughout the winter will now be searching for answers as they attempt to patch together the back of their rotation.

With Stroman sliding into the back of the rotation after entering camp projected for a possible long relief role, that leaves just one spot in the club's starting five that will need to be filled for the first few months of the season.

The club has a handful of internal options at its disposal, even with well-regarded prospect Chase Hampton having undergone Tommy John surgery himself last month.

The top option on the club's 40-man roster as things stand is right-hander Will Warren, who made his big league debut last year.

That cup of coffee at the big league level did not go over very well, as Warren was shelled to the tune of a 10.32 ERA in 22 2/3 innings of work.

That was just a glimpse into Warren's struggles last year, as he also floundered at the Triple-A level with a 5.91 ERA across 23 starts at the highest level of the minors.