The Yankees are lucky. Yes, that’s a very weird thing to say in a year in which they have suffered an absurd amount of injuries and key players have declined or struggled, but they are lucky to have an ace of Gerrit Cole’s caliber.
Ever since he landed on the Yankees before the 2020 season, Cole has done nothing but dominate. He has a 3.14 in 642 innings in pinstripes (77 ERA-), offering a unique combination of production and durability/availability. That latter part is really important, and it’s actually part of what makes Cole great: he never gets injured, and the Yankees have been able to count on elite production almost every time he takes the ball.