The New York Yankees could see ace Gerrit Cole return to the team very soon.
Cole is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and the star right-hander is closing in on a return to the majors. Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed Cole’s next outing could be a rehab start before returning to the big league club.
“Aaron Boone said the Yankees will decide over the next few days if Gerrit Cole’s next outing will be a rehab start. He threw 3 innings/42 pitches yesterday against hitters at Hudson Valley,” Yankees reporter Gary Phillips wrote on X.
Cole has been throwing live batting practice, and Boone has been impressed with what he’s seen and heard about it. So, the right-hander could have a rehab start next time out before returning to the Yankees sometime in May to help bolster the rotation.
Cole, meanwhile, said he doesn’t care if his next outing is another sim game or a real rehab start.
“I don’t have an opinion one way or the other,” Cole said. “I just want to make sure we do what’s right, really. So I think we’re just taking in a little bit more information over the next couple of days before we make that call.”
Cole is a six-time All-Star and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2023.
Cole Believes Arm is Feeling Better
With Cole beginning to ramp up, he has been happy with how his arm has felt during pitching and the days after.
The star right-hander said his arm is different now than it was before the surgery, but he believes it’s better than it was prior to the surgery.
“It’s definitely a different arm,” Cole said. “There’s still the same recovery patterns. I think the more and more I stay on like a rotation, the more I go through these cycles of adapting, getting sore, adapting, getting sore adapting, which is normal.
“… The way the ball’s kind of coming out, the ability to get through the baseball a little bit better and then from the recovery standpoint is more normal prior to having some injuries.”
Cole last pitched in an MLB game in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, as he suffered the injury during spring training. If Cole begins a rehab assignment, he has 30 days in the minors, but those recovering from Tommy John surgery may receive three consecutive 10-day extensions, so the Yankees have time with Cole.
Yankees Rally for Walk-Off Win
New York rallied for a stunning 11-10 walk-off win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday.
The Yankees scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk it off, and Boone said it’s a good game to win, as losing a high-scoring game is always frustrating.
“In a lot of ways, good to win a game like that,” Boone said. “ … As tough as tonight was for the belly sitting over there — after you get a lead, get another lead and then it’s gone — maybe it was good to have a game like that, where it was a little messy and then the offense was able to really pick up what’s been excellent pitching so far.”
The Yankees are off to a 9-7 start.
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