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Gerrit Cole looking ahead

The New York Yankees faced their worst nightmare in spring training when Gerrit Cole had to undergo Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately, this situation was the worst for all parties involved. Not only is Cole getting older, and he has some milestones he wants to catch, but the Yankees need their ace.

It’s always tough to see a player of his status go down, but if anything has been shown throughout Cole’s career, it’s that he’s open and willing to do whatever it takes to get back on the mound and compete at the highest level.

Looking ahead to Cole’s career, there are many things that he probably wants to accomplish. He seems to be a lock to make the Hall of Fame, winning a Cy Young Award, two ERA titles, and earning six All-Star nods. He’s still searching for that ring.

Outside of that, he also needs to hit 3,000 strikeouts, currently sitting at 2,251.

Can Yankees’ Gerrit Cole reach 3,000 strikeouts?

In a recent prediction from Fox Sports, they believe the right-hander has the opportunity to do that, but it could be tricky, adding that his strikeout numbers have fallen off a bit due to some of the injuries he’s dealt with, throwing in just 95.0 innings last season and striking out 99 hitters.

“The next candidate for 3,000 K’s is Gerrit Cole, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery,” FOX Sports wrote . “The Yankees’ ace is out for all of 2025 after undergoing the procedure, but he’s expected to be back in 2026. He sits at 2,251 strikeouts, averaging 214 of them per year from 2017 through 2024, despite the pandemic-shortened 2020 and an injury-shortened 2024. From 2021 through 2023, Cole recorded 243, a league-leading 257, and 222 strikeouts.

“Assuming everything goes right with his surgery and recovery, then there’s little reason to expect him to pitch much differently in 2026. So he’s further away than Sale, but might have a better chance of actually getting there when you consider that he’s two years younger and has proven more durable overall.”

Does Gerrit Cole Want to Hit 3,000 strikeouts?

When Cole was at his best for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates, he was one of the best strikeout arms in Major League Baseball.

His 2019 season with the Astros was better than any video game numbers that anybody could’ve imagined, striking out 326 hitters in 212.1 innings. It was flat out ridiculous, showing why he was worth every penny that the Yankees paid him.

When speaking to reporters about his injury and surgery, he admitted that he hopes this was just a bump in the road and that at some point in the next year, he can be on the bump, helping the Yankees be the team they’re looking to be.

He doesn’t seem like someone who wants to accomplish personal things, as he’s already done so many times, but hitting 3,000 strikeouts would be a great accomplishment for any player.

“I hope it comes back like a fresh, new set of tires,” Cole said, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “That’s the best hope; just a pit stop that took a little longer than we had hoped for. … The first few weeks are important. It’s a long process, and it’s not super enjoyable. But you’ve got to not rush it and be where you are in the process. It gets better and better as it goes along, but it takes a while.”

Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan