Gerrit Cole’s Rehab Progress

After his first rehab start, Gerrit Cole felt as he had hoped. It’s been over 13 months since his Tommy John surgery, and throwing 44 pitches over 4 1/3 innings against Double-A Somerset on Friday was seen as a positive step. He described the sensation as “pretty standard” the next morning at Yankee Stadium.

This is just another phase in Cole’s lengthy journey back to the major leagues. While he’s progressing, there’s still a ways to go before he can rejoin the Yankees, with a likely return in mid-to-late May.

The Yankees are taking a careful approach with increasing his workload. Cole’s next outing will probably be next week at either High-A Hudson Valley or Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“I think the build-up is a pretty big physical box,” Cole remarked. “We’re in a good space to work on things, but eventually, you have to pitch. There can be some tense moments—long innings, quick ones, or even extended times on the bench—and we just have to handle them as they come.”

Throughout Friday’s game, Cole’s fastball was mostly in the range of 95-96 mph, which he noted was a bit faster than what he was comfortable with during recent live batting practice sessions.

At 35, it appeared Cole had successfully navigated a deloading phase, gearing up to pitch consistently again.

“I threw a lot of strikes and felt pretty solid overall,” he said, adding, “I have better control than command, but I’m good at that.”

Manager Aaron Boone was set to check on Cole’s rehabilitation progress that night and mentioned that the updates he’s received have been encouraging.

“Overall, it’s a really strong step for him,” Boone said. “We need to be disciplined with the timetable. It’s crucial that he not only rehabs from major surgery but also adjusts after not pitching at all last year. Our goal is for him to be not just ready to start but to maintain that status throughout the season.”