This is only spring training, but Gerrit Cole has returned to game action for the New York Yankees. Cole allowed two singles in a scoreless inning against Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon. It was his first time pitching in a game since having Tommy John surgery last March. Cole was scheduled for one inning and threw only 10 pitches.
The usual velocity was there. Six of Cole’s 10 pitches were fastballs and he topped out at 98.7 mph. He also threw a handful of sliders and curveballs, and had to cover first base on a bunt and again on a ground ball that got past the first baseman. Cole went to the bullpen afterward to continue throwing and building his pitch count.
“It just means I can go compete. It means I have done the work up to this point to go into a situation where things are bit uncontrolled and you have to go perform,” Cole told the New York Post earlier this week about returning to game action. “… It’s kind of the next step. The last batting practice was really good, but there’s a lot of just kind of sitting here. It’s just like, where do we go from here?”
Cole, 35, has faced hitters three times in live batting practice this spring as he marches forward with his rehab. He threw two innings and 35 pitches last Thursday, his most recent throwing session. While pitching in an actual game (even a spring training game) is a big rehab milestone, Cole is still targeting a late May or June return to the Yankee rotation. His return is not imminent.
Cole blew out his elbow last spring and had Tommy John surgery on March 11. Wednesday’s start was one year and one week out from surgery. These days Tommy John surgery comes with a 14-16 month rehab assuming there are no hiccups. To date, Cole’s rehab has gone smoothly. He’s not had to hit pause or dial things back, which can often happen during rehab.
“The fact that he’s getting into a game now kind of indicates where he is and how well it is going,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday (via The Athletic). “I don’t want people to think we’re speeding this thing up or anything. That’s not the case. It’s just, he’s ready to do this.”
Sandy Alcantara is a reminder that even great pitchers can have a difficult time in their first year back from Tommy John surgery. Cole is hitting all the milestones with his rehab, but it’s one thing to look great in live batting practice and it’s another to get outs in games that count. Control, one of Cole’s strengths, is often one of the last things to return after elbow reconstruction.
At the moment, New York’s rotation depth chart looks like this:
RHP Gerrit Cole(out until May/June after Tommy John surgery)- LHP Max Fried
LHP Carlos Rodón(out until mid-to-late April after elbow surgery)- RHP Cam Schlittler
RHP Clarke Schmidt(out until the second half after internal brace surgery)- RHP Luis Gil
- RHP Will Warren
- LHP Ryan Weathers
- LHP Ryan Yarbrough
- RHP Elmer Rodríguez (top pitching prospect)
Rodón had loose bodies and a bone spur removed from his elbow after last season and has also advanced to facing hitters as part of his rehab. He is not expected to pitch in a game before the end of spring training, however. Schmidt is not close to returning and may come back as a reliever late in the season if there’s not enough time to stretch out to start.
Cole missed the first two-and-a-half months of the 2024 season after coming down with a nerve issue in his elbow. Tests showed his UCL was intact at the time, so last year’s Tommy John surgery was a new injury. Prior to 2024, Cole was one of the game’s top workhorses, averaging 32 starts and 201 innings a year from 2017-23 (not including 2020).
This is Year 7 of Cole’s nine-year, $324 million contract. It was the largest pitching contract in history at the time. Cole opted out of his deal last offseason, then ultimately returned to the Yankees on the terms of the original agreement.
The Yankees won 94 games last season and had the American League’s best run differential despite not having Cole. His last start was Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.
