Pittsburgh Pirates ace pitcher Gerrit Cole has been placed on the disabled list with elbow inflammation, and it’s unclear when he will return.
Continue for updates.
Cole Placed on DL
Monday, Aug. 29
Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Cole has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with posterior inflammation in his right elbow.
Latest on Cole’s Rehab
Sunday, Aug. 28
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Stephen J. Nesbitt reported that Cole ran sprints on the field on Sunday morning. Nesbitt noted that Cole will not comment until after his doctor’s visit and will head to Los Angeles later on Sunday.
Pirates Need Cole Healthy for Playoff Push
Cole has had a frustrating season, thanks in large part to a strained right triceps in June that led to him missing one month.
He’s been solid when healthy, owning a 3.55 ERA, but he’s not overpowering hitters like he did last season. His hit (10.0) and walk rates (2.5) are both up, while his strikeout rate (7.5) has dropped by more than one per nine innings from 2015 (8.7), per Baseball-Reference.com.
The Pirates have had all sorts of problems with their starting rotation this season. Francisco Liriano and Jon Niese both struggled before they were traded. Jeff Locke has an ERA over 5.00, Jameson Taillon is still learning to pitch in the big leagues and Tyler Glasnow has spent time on the disabled list.
Pittsburgh’s success over the last three seasons has been due in large part to the strength of their rotation. There are a lot of things that have gone wrong for the Pirates in 2016, but the biggest issue has been a lack of consistency from their starting pitchers.
Cole’s absence leaves a huge hole atop the Pirates rotation that they will be unable to fill. They have depth options to play with, including newly acquired Ivan Nova and Drew Hutchison, but Cole is the workhorse they were counting on to carry them through down periods.
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