The New York Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole is dealing with nerve inflammation in his throwing elbow and will have to pause throwing for three to four weeks. Cole confirmed this while talking with reporters on Saturday.

Cole experienced a sore elbow earlier this month, and there was a concern that he might have to undergo Tommy John surgery. This would sideline him for the 2024 season and the better part of the 2025 campaign.

Luckily for Cole and the Yankees, an MRI test revealed that the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner is “only” dealing with a nerve inflammation. He will now need to go through a period of rest and rehab but is expected to get back into action in May or early June. 

“I think we’ve determined that we just got a little too hot a little too quick in the spring,” Cole said via MLB.com. “We progressed through the normal recovery cycle, but at a certain time we didn’t get back to the baseline which was our target. At that point, it was time to see what was going on.”

Gerrit Cole made 33 starts in 2023, going 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA and 222 strikeouts. He was named an All-Star for the sixth time in his career while winning his first Cy Young Award.

With Cole being out for the start of the season, Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman said that the franchise feels good about weathering his absence. However, he didn’t exclude the possibility of strengthening the roster with another quality arm.

“I feel good about our internal options. At the same time, it’s never stopped us from having external conversations,” said Cashman.

The post Yankees’ Ace Gerrit Cole is Dealing With “Nerve Inflammation” in His Throwing Elbow appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New York Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole is finally a Cy Young Award winner. The MLB unveiled Cole as a unanimous American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday, while San Diego Padres’ Blake Snell received the same honor in the National League.

Cole considered one of the best pitchers of his generation, received all 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA voting panel. The 33-year-old player finished second in the Cy Young Award voting in 2019 and 2021 while finishing in the Top 5 three more times.

Cole started 33 games in 2023, being one of the rare bright spots for the struggling Yankees. He pitched a total of 209 innings, finishing the campaign with a 15-4 record, 2.63 ERA, and 222 strikeouts.

Snell, on the other hand, received 28 first-place votes to win his second-career Cy Young Award. The 30-year-old right-hander is only the seventh pitcher to receive the honor in both AL and NL, having won his first Cy Young in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays. Arizona Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen and San Francisco Giants’ Logan Webb got the two remaining first-place votes.

Snell had the MLB-leading 2.25 ERA in 2023 and was the only qualified pitcher below 2.50 ERA in the league. He went 14-9 in 32 starts and had 234 strikeouts.

The post Yankees’ Gerrit Cole and Padres’ Blake Snell Win Cy Young Award appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After weeks of trying, the New York Yankees have gotten their man, and they have handed out the largest contract in the history of baseball for a pitcher in order to do so.

The Yankees and free agent starting pitcher Gerrit Cole have agreed to a 9-year contract worth $324 million, making Cole the richest pitcher in the history of the game.

Both the overall $324 million value of the deal and the $36 million annual salary that the California native will receive are the highest figures that any pitcher has been awarded in the league’s history.

Cole was the most sought-after name on the free-agent market this offseason after a dominant two-year run with the Houston Astros in 2018 and 2019. Cole finished second in Cy Young voting this year after posting a stellar 20-5 record with a 2.50 ERA for the American League pennant winners.

The 29-year-old pitcher led the league in strikeouts last season as well with 326.

Multiple teams, including the Dodgers, Angels, and the Astros, were in the market for his services, but New York ultimately offered the most appealing contract for the superstar righty.

Cole is expected to be presented to Yankee fans and the New York media at Yankee Stadium next week.

The post Yankees Sign SP Gerrit Cole to Record-Breaking $324 Million Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It looks like New York Yankees are ready to do everything it takes to land free agent All-Star pitcher Gerrit Cole. After reports surfaced last week that the team made Cole their primary target in the offseason, Yankees now decided to make their first offer.

According to The New York Times’ Bob Klapisch, Yankees have prepared a record-setting seven-year, $245 million offer for Cole. This would be the largest deal for a pitcher in terms of overall value and average annual value ($35 million). The current overall value record is held by David Price, who signed a seven-year, $217 million deal with Boston Red Sox, while Zack Greinke had the highest AAV with $34.4 million he receives according to his 2015’s six-year contract signed with Arizona Diamondbacks.

Klapisch brings out a good point regarding the length of the deal. Considering the fact that Gerrit Cole is 29 years old, he will most likely push for a longer contract that would run close to his forties. If Los Angeles Angels and LA Dodgers, two other interested teams, can’t compete with New York in terms of money, they might decide to offer few extra years to lure Cole.

Cole is coming off a career season with Houston Astros in which he posted 20-5 record with 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts.

The post Yankees Offer Gerrit Cole a Record 7-Year, $245 Million Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After the Washington Nationals’ shocking run to the World Series crown in the 2019 MLB season, it’s now time to look ahead to the offseason and free agency.

There’s a large crop of tantalizing free agents on the market heading into the 2020 season. The choice that these players make as to where to play in the upcoming seasons will likely make a huge impact on the league.

Here are our picks for the top four free agents this MLB offseason and for where they will end up signing a contract.

1. Anthony Rendon

Rendon has been a monster for the Nationals over the past several seasons. The third baseman won a Silver Slugger Award and placed third in NL MVP voting after an elite season in which he batted .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs and 126 RBI.

The Texas native won’t turn 30 until next June, but he has hinted in past interviews that he might call it a career after only a few more seasons. We think Rendon will take a big-money deal for four or five seasons to join the Dodgers.

Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Gerrit Cole

Cole had the best season of his career in 2019, finishing just behind Astros teammate Justin Verlander for the AL Cy Young Award. The consistent, durable righty starter won 20 games for Houston and posted a 2.50 ERA, racking up a mind-boggling total of 326 strikeouts to lead the league.

The 29-year-old, as fate has it, is an Orange County native and a UCLA alum. With the Los Angeles Angels desperate to add a front-line starter and with deep pockets waiting to make their move, we expect Cole to sign a deal to return home.

Prediction: Los Angeles Angels

3. Stephen Strasburg

Strasburg, the reigning World Series MVP, opted out of the second half of his contract with the Nationals to test the free agent waters after a successful year on the mound and an even better postseason.

He won’t be cheap for the Nationals retain, as his consistent front-line results in previous seasons have driven up his market value. However, Strasburg has always been comfortable in Washington and we expect the team to commit to him financially in order to keep him in their rotation.

Prediction: Washington Nationals

4. Madison Bumgarner

Yet another pitcher comes in at number four on the list. Bumgarner, the veteran lefty who has spent the entirety of his career with the San Francisco Giants, is a free agent for the first time and is looking to earn one final big payday.

A North Carolina native, Bumgarner seems like an ideal candidate to sign a deal with the Braves, who are looking for a top starter to add to their young and talented rotation that wasn’t good enough to advance out of the Division Series in this year’s playoffs.

Prediction: Atlanta Braves

The post Predictions For Top MLB Free Agents appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Game 1 matchup of Gerrit Cole vs. Max Scherzer was the much anticipated Fall Classic pitching firepower everyone was looking forward to. Two of the best strikeout pitchers of the decade facing off in the World Series should add up to an exciting pitching duel, but the Nationals got to Gerrit Cole and handed him his first loss since May 22.

Although the Astros struck in the first off a 2 run double by Yuli Gurriel, the Nats came answering back. It was fitting that 35-year-old Ryan Zimmerman hit the first World Series home run in franchise history, while 20-year-old sensation Juan Soto followed up with a homer and 3 RBIs.

Max Scherzer didn’t dominate the Houston offense, but he labored through 5 innings and managed to get the win while only giving up 2 first-inning runs.

The shaky Washington bullpen, the teams biggest concern all year, let up 2 earned runs in relief, and although they had the team on the edge of their seats, the relievers got the job done, including a 4 out save from Sean Doolittle.

With a 19-0 record in his last 25 starts and a minuscule 0.40 ERA in 22 2/3 postseason innings, Cole proved that he is human by letting up 5 earned runs. Houston has no cause for concern, however, as they lost by only 1 run and have co-ace Justin Verlander slotted for Game 2 at home.

The post Nats Take Game 1, Cole Suffers First Loss Since May appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole of the Houston Astros reached a major milestone on Wednesday night, becoming the eighteenth pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to record 300 strikeouts in a single season.

Cole got Shin-Soo Choo to swing and miss on an 89 mile per hour to end the sixth inning, recording his eighth strikeout of the game and his three-hundredth of what has been a dominant season for the righty.

Not only did Cole break the 300 strikeout barrier in his start, but he also finished the night with ten strikeouts. This was his seventh consecutive start with at least ten strikeouts, tying him for fourth place on the all-time Major League list.

Cole allowed 2 runs and struck out ten batters in Houston’s 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers, the team’s 100th victory of the season.

The UCLA alum appears to be the front-runner for this year’s AL Cy Young Award. Cole has been great all season, recording an 18-5 record with 302 strikeouts and a 2.61 ERA as the Astros’ co-ace along with Justin Verlander.

It’s been a season to remember for Cole, and Wednesday is a night that he will certainly never forget.

The post Astros P Gerrit Cole Reaches 300 Strikeout Mark for 2019 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

When Pittsburgh Pirates shipped off stars Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen to Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants respectively, it looked like the team is heading to a long rebuild. But, the Pirates are insisting that the thing they are doing is a “part of a roster reset”, and decided to keep some players like closer Felipe Rivero. The 26-year-old left-hander and the Pirates signed a $22 million, four-year contract on Thursday. The contract could be worth $41 million and go for six years if the team picks up the two-year options included in the deal.

Rivero, who was traded to the Pirates from the Washington Nationals in 2016, said that this contract makes him relaxed for the next few years.

“I want to be relaxed the next few years and not have arbitration cases,” – said Rivero. “I just want to help the team as much as I can right now. When I got traded they … tried to make you feel like you’re at home. That’s why I wanted to stay for a few more years.“

Felipe Rivero went 5-3 with a 1.67 ERA since he became the team’s closer in May 2017. He also converted 21 of 23 save opportunities.

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said that the team is now feeling more confident knowing that Rivero will stay for years to come.

“It frees him up to just go pitch, frees him up to just go do his thing,” – said Huntington. “He doesn’t have to worry about a lot of the things that players worry about.“

Huntington also discussed the possibility of the Pirates being a very bad team before getting better, saying those kinds of ideas are “false narrative.” He said the team will stay dedicated to winning in the upcoming seasons and try to bounce back from a disappointing 2017 season when the Pirates had 75-87 record.

The post Pittsburgh Pirates sign Felipe Rivero to 4-Year, $22 Million Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New York Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole is dealing with nerve inflammation in his throwing elbow and will have to pause throwing for three to four weeks. Cole confirmed this while talking with reporters on Saturday.

Cole experienced a sore elbow earlier this month, and there was a concern that he might have to undergo Tommy John surgery. This would sideline him for the 2024 season and the better part of the 2025 campaign.

Luckily for Cole and the Yankees, an MRI test revealed that the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner is “only” dealing with a nerve inflammation. He will now need to go through a period of rest and rehab but is expected to get back into action in May or early June. 

“I think we’ve determined that we just got a little too hot a little too quick in the spring,” Cole said via MLB.com. “We progressed through the normal recovery cycle, but at a certain time we didn’t get back to the baseline which was our target. At that point, it was time to see what was going on.”

Gerrit Cole made 33 starts in 2023, going 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA and 222 strikeouts. He was named an All-Star for the sixth time in his career while winning his first Cy Young Award.

With Cole being out for the start of the season, Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman said that the franchise feels good about weathering his absence. However, he didn’t exclude the possibility of strengthening the roster with another quality arm.

“I feel good about our internal options. At the same time, it’s never stopped us from having external conversations,” said Cashman.

The post Yankees’ Ace Gerrit Cole is Dealing With “Nerve Inflammation” in His Throwing Elbow appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New York Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole is finally a Cy Young Award winner. The MLB unveiled Cole as a unanimous American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday, while San Diego Padres’ Blake Snell received the same honor in the National League.

Cole considered one of the best pitchers of his generation, received all 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA voting panel. The 33-year-old player finished second in the Cy Young Award voting in 2019 and 2021 while finishing in the Top 5 three more times.

Cole started 33 games in 2023, being one of the rare bright spots for the struggling Yankees. He pitched a total of 209 innings, finishing the campaign with a 15-4 record, 2.63 ERA, and 222 strikeouts.

Snell, on the other hand, received 28 first-place votes to win his second-career Cy Young Award. The 30-year-old right-hander is only the seventh pitcher to receive the honor in both AL and NL, having won his first Cy Young in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays. Arizona Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen and San Francisco Giants’ Logan Webb got the two remaining first-place votes.

Snell had the MLB-leading 2.25 ERA in 2023 and was the only qualified pitcher below 2.50 ERA in the league. He went 14-9 in 32 starts and had 234 strikeouts.

The post Yankees’ Gerrit Cole and Padres’ Blake Snell Win Cy Young Award appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After weeks of trying, the New York Yankees have gotten their man, and they have handed out the largest contract in the history of baseball for a pitcher in order to do so.

The Yankees and free agent starting pitcher Gerrit Cole have agreed to a 9-year contract worth $324 million, making Cole the richest pitcher in the history of the game.

Both the overall $324 million value of the deal and the $36 million annual salary that the California native will receive are the highest figures that any pitcher has been awarded in the league’s history.

Cole was the most sought-after name on the free-agent market this offseason after a dominant two-year run with the Houston Astros in 2018 and 2019. Cole finished second in Cy Young voting this year after posting a stellar 20-5 record with a 2.50 ERA for the American League pennant winners.

The 29-year-old pitcher led the league in strikeouts last season as well with 326.

Multiple teams, including the Dodgers, Angels, and the Astros, were in the market for his services, but New York ultimately offered the most appealing contract for the superstar righty.

Cole is expected to be presented to Yankee fans and the New York media at Yankee Stadium next week.

The post Yankees Sign SP Gerrit Cole to Record-Breaking $324 Million Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It looks like New York Yankees are ready to do everything it takes to land free agent All-Star pitcher Gerrit Cole. After reports surfaced last week that the team made Cole their primary target in the offseason, Yankees now decided to make their first offer.

According to The New York Times’ Bob Klapisch, Yankees have prepared a record-setting seven-year, $245 million offer for Cole. This would be the largest deal for a pitcher in terms of overall value and average annual value ($35 million). The current overall value record is held by David Price, who signed a seven-year, $217 million deal with Boston Red Sox, while Zack Greinke had the highest AAV with $34.4 million he receives according to his 2015’s six-year contract signed with Arizona Diamondbacks.

Klapisch brings out a good point regarding the length of the deal. Considering the fact that Gerrit Cole is 29 years old, he will most likely push for a longer contract that would run close to his forties. If Los Angeles Angels and LA Dodgers, two other interested teams, can’t compete with New York in terms of money, they might decide to offer few extra years to lure Cole.

Cole is coming off a career season with Houston Astros in which he posted 20-5 record with 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts.

The post Yankees Offer Gerrit Cole a Record 7-Year, $245 Million Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After the Washington Nationals’ shocking run to the World Series crown in the 2019 MLB season, it’s now time to look ahead to the offseason and free agency.

There’s a large crop of tantalizing free agents on the market heading into the 2020 season. The choice that these players make as to where to play in the upcoming seasons will likely make a huge impact on the league.

Here are our picks for the top four free agents this MLB offseason and for where they will end up signing a contract.

1. Anthony Rendon

Rendon has been a monster for the Nationals over the past several seasons. The third baseman won a Silver Slugger Award and placed third in NL MVP voting after an elite season in which he batted .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs and 126 RBI.

The Texas native won’t turn 30 until next June, but he has hinted in past interviews that he might call it a career after only a few more seasons. We think Rendon will take a big-money deal for four or five seasons to join the Dodgers.

Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Gerrit Cole

Cole had the best season of his career in 2019, finishing just behind Astros teammate Justin Verlander for the AL Cy Young Award. The consistent, durable righty starter won 20 games for Houston and posted a 2.50 ERA, racking up a mind-boggling total of 326 strikeouts to lead the league.

The 29-year-old, as fate has it, is an Orange County native and a UCLA alum. With the Los Angeles Angels desperate to add a front-line starter and with deep pockets waiting to make their move, we expect Cole to sign a deal to return home.

Prediction: Los Angeles Angels

3. Stephen Strasburg

Strasburg, the reigning World Series MVP, opted out of the second half of his contract with the Nationals to test the free agent waters after a successful year on the mound and an even better postseason.

He won’t be cheap for the Nationals retain, as his consistent front-line results in previous seasons have driven up his market value. However, Strasburg has always been comfortable in Washington and we expect the team to commit to him financially in order to keep him in their rotation.

Prediction: Washington Nationals

4. Madison Bumgarner

Yet another pitcher comes in at number four on the list. Bumgarner, the veteran lefty who has spent the entirety of his career with the San Francisco Giants, is a free agent for the first time and is looking to earn one final big payday.

A North Carolina native, Bumgarner seems like an ideal candidate to sign a deal with the Braves, who are looking for a top starter to add to their young and talented rotation that wasn’t good enough to advance out of the Division Series in this year’s playoffs.

Prediction: Atlanta Braves

The post Predictions For Top MLB Free Agents appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Game 1 matchup of Gerrit Cole vs. Max Scherzer was the much anticipated Fall Classic pitching firepower everyone was looking forward to. Two of the best strikeout pitchers of the decade facing off in the World Series should add up to an exciting pitching duel, but the Nationals got to Gerrit Cole and handed him his first loss since May 22.

Although the Astros struck in the first off a 2 run double by Yuli Gurriel, the Nats came answering back. It was fitting that 35-year-old Ryan Zimmerman hit the first World Series home run in franchise history, while 20-year-old sensation Juan Soto followed up with a homer and 3 RBIs.

Max Scherzer didn’t dominate the Houston offense, but he labored through 5 innings and managed to get the win while only giving up 2 first-inning runs.

The shaky Washington bullpen, the teams biggest concern all year, let up 2 earned runs in relief, and although they had the team on the edge of their seats, the relievers got the job done, including a 4 out save from Sean Doolittle.

With a 19-0 record in his last 25 starts and a minuscule 0.40 ERA in 22 2/3 postseason innings, Cole proved that he is human by letting up 5 earned runs. Houston has no cause for concern, however, as they lost by only 1 run and have co-ace Justin Verlander slotted for Game 2 at home.

The post Nats Take Game 1, Cole Suffers First Loss Since May appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole of the Houston Astros reached a major milestone on Wednesday night, becoming the eighteenth pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to record 300 strikeouts in a single season.

Cole got Shin-Soo Choo to swing and miss on an 89 mile per hour to end the sixth inning, recording his eighth strikeout of the game and his three-hundredth of what has been a dominant season for the righty.

Not only did Cole break the 300 strikeout barrier in his start, but he also finished the night with ten strikeouts. This was his seventh consecutive start with at least ten strikeouts, tying him for fourth place on the all-time Major League list.

Cole allowed 2 runs and struck out ten batters in Houston’s 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers, the team’s 100th victory of the season.

The UCLA alum appears to be the front-runner for this year’s AL Cy Young Award. Cole has been great all season, recording an 18-5 record with 302 strikeouts and a 2.61 ERA as the Astros’ co-ace along with Justin Verlander.

It’s been a season to remember for Cole, and Wednesday is a night that he will certainly never forget.

The post Astros P Gerrit Cole Reaches 300 Strikeout Mark for 2019 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

When Pittsburgh Pirates shipped off stars Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen to Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants respectively, it looked like the team is heading to a long rebuild. But, the Pirates are insisting that the thing they are doing is a “part of a roster reset”, and decided to keep some players like closer Felipe Rivero. The 26-year-old left-hander and the Pirates signed a $22 million, four-year contract on Thursday. The contract could be worth $41 million and go for six years if the team picks up the two-year options included in the deal.

Rivero, who was traded to the Pirates from the Washington Nationals in 2016, said that this contract makes him relaxed for the next few years.

“I want to be relaxed the next few years and not have arbitration cases,” – said Rivero. “I just want to help the team as much as I can right now. When I got traded they … tried to make you feel like you’re at home. That’s why I wanted to stay for a few more years.“

Felipe Rivero went 5-3 with a 1.67 ERA since he became the team’s closer in May 2017. He also converted 21 of 23 save opportunities.

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said that the team is now feeling more confident knowing that Rivero will stay for years to come.

“It frees him up to just go pitch, frees him up to just go do his thing,” – said Huntington. “He doesn’t have to worry about a lot of the things that players worry about.“

Huntington also discussed the possibility of the Pirates being a very bad team before getting better, saying those kinds of ideas are “false narrative.” He said the team will stay dedicated to winning in the upcoming seasons and try to bounce back from a disappointing 2017 season when the Pirates had 75-87 record.

The post Pittsburgh Pirates sign Felipe Rivero to 4-Year, $22 Million Deal appeared first on SportzBonanza.