When Gerrit Cole exercised the opt-out clause in his contract with the New York Yankees last November, speculation swirled about whether he would leave for a bigger deal. But days later, he and the Yanks agreed to reinstate the original contract — an unusual turn of events that required MLBPA approval.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has undergone Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2025 MLB season, according to the team. The surgery included internal bracing, a relatively new procedure that improves the level of support on the ligament and can speed up recovery time.

While Cole did have internal bracing done on his surgically-repaired elbow, he still had the typical Tommy John surgery.