David Cone isn’t a doctor. He’s pitched a perfect game, he’s won five World Series titles and he’s one of the sports premier TV analysts. But he’s never had to ask for a scalpel in an operating room.

No matter. Cone, a 17-year big leaguer, knows what he’s talking about when it comes to pitching injuries. And he’s not too spooked when it comes to the recent history of Corey Kluber, with whom the Yankees agreed to a one-year deal that’s expected to be worth about $11 million.

“I think it’s quite the opposite, actually,” Cone said while on the YES Network’s “Yankees Hot Stove” on Monday night.

“If I were Corey Kluber’s agent, I would sell it this way: He didn’t really have a rotator cuff injury,” Cone said. “He had a teres major injury, which is below the lat muscle, below the bigger muscle. The trend with those types of injuries is that it takes a little longer to heal but once it heals, those guys come back full strength. There’s a good track record as far as that goes. You’re still talking about a power pitcher that’s had a couple of freak injuries, too. Hit by a line drive. The last two years, it’s been a combination of both. If you’re looking at the injuries, it’s much better to have those types of injuries than say a labrum injury or to have rotator cuff surgery. So, those are a little tougher to come back from.”

[www.nj.com]