The Yankees are putting a lot on Gerrit Cole’s shoulders this season, especially after his elbow surgery. Cole’s 35 now. He had Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2025. Before that, in 2024, he threw 95 innings with a 3.41 ERA.

He saw this coming with his elbow, honestly. And his contract added some drama. There was an opt-out after 2024, but the Yankees could cancel it by just tacking on another year at $36 million. Since Cole needed surgery, both sides agreed to leave the deal alone: no opt-out, no extra year. That way, Cole could just focus on getting healthy without worrying about his future.

And, man, Cole looks ready. He’s been sharp this spring, already touching 97 mph with his fastball. That’s not rehab speed; that’s what he throws in games. The Yankees wanted to see that, and they have.

Brendan Kuty from The Athletic said on the Fireside Yankees podcast that Cole looks good. Sure, he’s just throwing fastballs right now, but 97 is 97. Even for an inning, he doesn’t look hurt. He didn’t cruise through his rehab either. The Yankees’ season really rides on him. If he’s healthy and pitching well, this team is in a much better spot.

That’s basically the story. The Yankees are pretty much the same team that lost to the Blue Jays in the ALDS. They brought in Ryan Weathers and kept Cody Bellinger and Paul Blackburn, but that’s about it. If Cole comes back around late May or early June and pitches as he did in 2023, when he put up a 2.82 ERA, suddenly this team feels different.

Let’s talk rotation. Right now, the Yankees start the year with Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Ryan Weathers, and Luis Gil. Fried’s the ace. Schlittler showed flashes last year but still needs to get his secondary pitches working. Warren’s fastball is legit, but when he can’t land his breaking stuff, he struggles. Weather? He’s got upside but can’t stay healthy. Gil is fun to watch, but up and down.

This group might win 85-90 games. It’s not a World Series rotation, though. Add Cole, and the whole picture changes. Fried and Cole at the top can match up with anybody in October. Schlittler slides to third, so there’s less pressure on him.

Don’t forget Carlos Rodon; he’s coming back from elbow surgery, too, and should return by late April or early May. So by June, the Yankees could be rolling out Fried, Rodon, and Cole. That’s a huge step up from where they started the season.

But it’s not just about velocity with Cole. He’s focusing on his fastball right now; sliders and breaking balls come later. He hopes to be back in late May or early June. Seeing him throw that hard is a good sign, but the real test is when he starts mixing in his full arsenal. His slider is nasty, his curve sets up his heater, and his changeup keeps hitters honest.

Kuty also said it’s not just the speed; it’s how intense and smooth he looks. Like, get ready; this could be special as Cole finds his rhythm again.

That edge is what sets great pitchers apart. Cole doesn’t just throw hard. He’s a competitor. He attacks hitters and makes them uncomfortable, even when they know what’s coming. You can’t measure that on a radar gun, but it’s huge in the postseason.

Even if Cole comes back at 75%, he’s still a major boost for this team. Seriously, a 75% Cole is better than most starters at full strength. If he’s sitting 95-96 instead of 97-98, fine. If his slider isn’t as sharp, they’ll take it. If he can give them 160-170 innings and an ERA around 3.50, that’s a win.

The Yankees don’t need him to be the Cy Young runner-up from 2023. They need him to take the ball, keep them in games, and eat innings. If he does that, the rotation goes from shaky to solid.

If he’s fully back by September, the Yankees are set. That’s when you want your ace healthy. Playoff baseball is all about pitching depth, and having Cole, Fried, and Rodon can change everything.

They can live with a slow start if they know Cole’s coming. They can deal with young pitchers taking their lumps because help is on the way. But if Cole really looks like himself when he returns, this team suddenly has one of the best rotations in baseball.

For now, everyone’s watching the next bullpen. Can he snap off the slider? Is the curve still nasty? The answers will tell you if the Yankees are for real this year.

Sports psychologists will tell you visualisation is one of the best tricks athletes have up their sleeve. It sounds strange, but just imagining yourself succeeding can really work. The folks at the NIH have done the studies: when athletes picture themselves nailing a shot or making a play, their brains actually build stronger neural pathways. Their muscle memory sharpens up, too. Basically, seeing yourself do something makes it more likely you’ll actually pull it off when it counts.

But here’s the catch, at least if you’re Nico Echavarria. He doesn’t often get flashes of the future.

“Not very often,” he said with a laugh on Sunday. “I can’t remember the last time I told my wife I was going to win a tournament.”

Echavarria’s not exactly out here claiming psychic powers. All those Raven-Symoné or Nostradamus moments? Pretty rare for him. But last week, something felt different. He was with his new wife, Claudia, and his financial advisor, John Koufax, at an event, and he just blurted it out.

“We were at Panther National for the Evans Scholar Foundation,” he said. “I told them, ‘Hey, I think I can win this week.’ I’d played the Bear’s Club that morning. Hit it great. Felt good about my game.”

Was it just a random burst of confidence? A hunch? Whatever it was, it stuck. And up the road from those courses, at PGA National, Echavarria went out and made good on his words. He rattled off three rounds in the mid-60s at the Cognisant Classic, including a clutch 66 on Sunday to lock up his third PGA Tour win in the Palm Beaches. Two shots clear of the field, just like he called it.

Of course, nothing about this win was straightforward. Shane Lowry looked set to run away with it, carrying a big lead into the infamous Bear Trap, only to stumble hard at the end. That opened the door, and Echavarria didn’t hesitate. Maybe he didn’t see every twist coming, but he’d had a feeling something was about to break his way.

“I felt like things were starting to click,” Echavarria said. “Riviera went well, even though I didn’t drop a single putt and missed the cut by one. But I knew Bermuda greens would be more my style, and I’d have a chance to do something.”

Playing close to home, with greens that finally felt comfortable underfoot, Echavarria’s vision turned into reality on Sunday night. Looking back, maybe it shouldn’t be a shock he pulled it off; he saw it coming.

“I think the rain helped the greens. Friday, they were a little crunchy, but Saturday and Sunday, absolutely perfect,” he said. “I’m just really happy I moved down here, won this event, and got to represent my country.”