CHICAGO _ The Pirates placed Gerrit Cole on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 25, because of posterior inflammation in his right elbow.
Cole has a 3.55 ERA in 114 innings during a season already interrupted by a trip to the DL, for a triceps strain in June. He had a 6.08 ERA in five August starts and allowed 41 hits in 26 2/3 innings.
The earliest Cole can return is Sept. 9. He visited Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon and the team physician of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in Los Angeles on Monday.
"Posterior" refers to the back of the elbow. The ulnar collateral ligament, which is the ligament that requires reconstruction in Tommy John surgery, is on the inside of the elbow.
Cole has gone on the DL four times in four major league seasons because of four different injuries: Shoulder, lat, triceps and elbow. After two DL stints in 2014, he pitched 208 innings last season, posting a 2.60 ERA and finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting.
The Pirates used Cole as the corresponding move to add Steven Brault, who started Monday's game, to the active roster. They announced the move about an hour before Brault took the mound.
