Gerrit Cole improved to throwing 50 times from 120 feet on Tuesday and “could be off the mound sometime next week,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
“It’s emotional because we’re getting to 120 points,” Cole said. “We’ll move on.”
Typically, 120 feet is the longest a rehabbing pitcher can stretch before taking the mound, but Boone said that doesn’t mean this is Cole’s final step in moving to bullpen sessions.
“I think he’s pretty advanced in that regard,” Boone said before the Yankees hosted the Athletics. “He’s pretty aggressive where he’s pitching. I don’t think that necessarily means he’s going to be on the mound right away. It might be next week or so. But I at least know the process so far. It’s encouraging to see what he’s done and how it’s progressing.”
Cole, who has been out since early March with nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow, insisted he is focusing on daily rehabilitation and trying not to get too ahead of himself. In that regard, he plans to pitch on Monday and Tuesday, take Wednesday off, and if he’s feeling good, he’ll pitch again on Thursday.
“I’m feeling similar to the offseason,” said Cole, who is on the disabled list for the first time in his career with an arm injury. “That’s kind of what we’re working on. Just trying to make it work. Not too fast, not too slow. But that’s kind of the structure we’re working with. ”
Asked where he would be on the calendar if it were the offseason, Cole wasn’t sure.
“That’s a good question,” he said. “It’s not like downtime, so we’re still trying to figure it out.” [a 3-4 week shutdown in which Cole kept his arm live] It was down time. Once we get through this week, we might have a better idea of where the comparisons are. ”
Cole was expected to need six weeks worth of spring training before he was ready to join the Yankees. But it’s not clear when that six-week timeline begins for Cole, as most pitchers show up to camp after pitching multiple bullpen sessions. He won’t be eligible to come off the 60-day IL until May 27 at the earliest, but he’ll almost certainly need more than that.
Infield prospect Jovit Vivas came off the disabled list Tuesday against Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, playing in his first game since sustaining a fractured left orbit on the final day of spring training.
