Gerrit Cole is expected to return to the New York Yankees’ rotation after making one more Minor League rehabilitation start, according to a May 18 announcement by the team.
Cole’s return is significant for the Yankees as they approach a key part of their season and manage injuries among their pitching staff. The right-hander, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in March 2025, threw 86 pitches over five and one-third innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. He reached a velocity of 99.6 miles per hour during his outing.
“So far, so good,” Cole said. “It’s been a good progression. The pitch count is steadily increasing. The recovery has been good, and the velocity and command are steadily increasing as well.” General manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone have previously indicated that late May or early June was targeted for Cole’s return.
Boone said Sunday, “Gerrit’s getting close. We really like the way he’s looking right now. I feel like that’s going to be a welcome addition to our rotation.… It looks like he’s in a good place. Right now, the plan is one more, and then we’ll go from there.” Cole has worked through several levels in his rehab assignment, including High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset before this latest appearance at Triple-A.
During his most recent game, Cole allowed one run on six hits while walking one batter and striking out six with an average fastball speed of 97 miles per hour. Over his rehab stint so far this year across all Minor League levels, he has pitched 29 innings with an earned run average of 4.66.
Cole acknowledged the lengthy process since his last Major League performance: “It’s just a really long rehab… it’s been about 17 months since I last performed in the big leagues, so no matter how you slice it, that’s a long time.” His anticipated return comes as left-hander Max Fried was placed on the injured list due to an elbow bone bruise; rookie Elmer RodrÃguez will fill Fried’s spot in upcoming games.
Manager Boone expressed optimism about the team’s pitching depth moving forward: “I feel like [the rotation] should be a strength moving forward for us,” Boone said, “but we’ve got to prove that.”
