After finishing 82-80 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016, New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole admitted that the 2023 season could be considered a "disaster," per ESPN's David Schoenfield.

As the Yankees saw their postseason hopes slip away, Cole said the team's goals shifted to avoiding the team's first losing season since 1992 rather than winning a World Series title.

"Being hamstrung for a great part of the year, there was a lot of grit that showed," Cole said. "We have a 30-some consecutive year run of finishing over .500, so when the greater goals faded away, there was a little bit of a rallying factor around that.

"We're not going to be the team, regardless of the position we've been put in, to cash it in at the end of the year, so we continued to push. So there was an element of pride in thatbut obviously 'disaster' was an appropriate word."

New York is looking to use the dreadful year as fuel heading into the 2024 campaign, however.

"Still fresh in our minds, so hopefully we use it as motivation," Cole said.

Despite a rough season for the Yankees as a whole, Cole had one of the best years of his career. He posted a 15-4 record with a 2.63 ERA and 222 strikeouts on his way to his first Cy Young Award.

Aside from Cole, New York's rotation struggled. Clarke Schmidt was the only pitcher besides Cole to start at least 20 games. Carlos Rodn, who was in his first season with the Yankees after signing a $162 million contract, dealt with a forearm strain and a back injury that limited him to 14 starts with a 6.85 ERA. Nestor Cortes, who missed time with a strained rotator cuff, posted a 4.97 ERA in 12 starts.

The injuries led to the Yankees finishing with a 4.44 rotation ERA, which ranked 18th last year. In 2022, New York finished fourth in rotation ERA.

Now, the Yankees are looking to get back into the postseason. New York made several moves over the offseason with the biggest being a trade that landed outfielder Juan Soto.

If the Yankees rotation can get back on track in 2024, it could mean a big year for New York.

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Gerrit Cole Calls Yankees' 2023 a 'Disaster,' Hopes It Will Be 'Motivation' for NY - Bleacher Report