The New York Yankees enter MLB games today with one of the best records in baseball, despite missing several key players including starting pitcher Gerrit Cole. While the Cy Young Award winner is eligible t come off the injured list at the end of May, New York will reportedly need to wait longer than that.

Cole, coming off one of the best seasons in his career, experienced discomfort in his pitching elbow during spring training. The Yankees immediately shut him down and sent him for testing, which determined that he had inflammation and edema in his right elbow.

• New York Yankees stats (rotation): 3.28 ERA (4th in MLB), .225 batting average allowed (8th in MLB), 1.25 WHIP (16th in MLB), 9 quality starts (16th in MLB)

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Doctors shut Cole down for a month, leaving a massive blow in the Yankees rotation to open the regular season. The injury was particularly concerning at a time when many hard-throwing starting pitchers are going down with elbow injuries, requiring Tommy John surgery. While New York’s ace avoided that and has been working his way back towards a return, there’s still significant work ahead.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal told Fox Sports on Monday that Rosenthal isn’t close to coming off the injured list and it’s now viewed as ‘unlikely’ for the Yankees’ pitcher to return when he’s first eligible.

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“Not really. He’s been throwing off flat ground and the expectation is that he’ll get off a mound, perhaps, sometime in the next week. Keep in mind, he cannot come off the injured list until May 27th, and it’s probably unlikely he will be ready at that time. He might require a little bit more

Ken Rosenthal on New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole

The good news for the Yankees is that their starting pitching has been good without Cole. However, it hasn’t been quite as dominant as of late. From April 21-29, the Yankees rotation sat 14th in ERA (3.53) and it ranks 22nd in walk rate (9 percent).

• Gerrit Cole contract: $36 million salary in 2024. Player opt-out in 2025, New York Yankees can void by adding a 10th year to contract at $36 million salary for the 2029 season

Already 33 years old, the Yankees will want to ease Cole back into action with days of rest in between each step of the process to ensure there isn’t renewed pain or discomfort in his elbow. Considering what’s at stake for New York and the risks with an elbow injury, it remains very possible that Cole doesn’t return to the mound at Yankee Stadium until several weeks into June.