Sad Gerrit Cole ovation, Luis Gil beard mark Yankees' Opening Day intros

While it was heartwarming to hear the New York Yankees' Opening Day crowd show well-deserved love to Gerrit Cole ahead of Thursday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers, it really would've been nicer to see him starting.

Instead, Yankees fans jarringly saw Cole at just about his lowest low, only about 2.5 weeks removed from the Tommy John surgery that prompted his depressing farewell note (or was it "see you later in 2026"?).

While several injured Yankees chose to stay behind in Florida to build up their strength ahead of the regular season, Cole traveled north with the club following his surgical procedure, and emerged from the dugout wearing a full elbow brace.

The crowd treated him with the expected level of reverence, but ... man, was it ever upsetting to learn, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that all of that really happened a few weeks back.

Yankees crowd serenades Gerrit Cole (and elbow brace) with standing ovation on Opening Day

Cole will be a valued presence in the locker room all season long, mentoring his fellow rotation mates and bullpen partners. Carlos Rodón, the volatile veteran presence, and Max Fried, the calm and collected lefty who still needs a lesson in how to adjust to the Bronx, will certainly benefit. Youngsters like Clarke Schmidt and Will Warren have a lot of growing to do, too, and will be thankful for the 2023 Cy Young winner.

Still, you'd rather have him on the mound instead of on the mend.

Last season, Luis Gil did an extremely thorough job of filling in for Cole as he missed April and May with an elbow issue. This year, he might just do it again, plotting a midseason return after a high-grade lat strain. The flame-throwing right-hander might miss time, but he did not miss the memo; Gil emerged from the dugout rocking a fuller beard than we expected.

Now, it's up to the active Yankees to show off their toughness. There's a lot to like. The ceiling and floor may both be lower than last season, but there's significant potential for a deeper everyday lineup.

The rotation? They don't stack up as well, but at least the Cole bombshell came well ahead of the opener, allowing us to properly honor him when the curtain rose.