Gerrit Cole is beginning his path back to the New York Yankees’ starting rotation. The 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Friday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Thursday.
Cole, 35, missed the entire 2025 MLB season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last spring. But he had an encouraging performance during spring training, topping out at 98 mph with his fastball. In two appearances, Cole allowed one run and three hits in 2 2/3 innings with three strikeouts.
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Boone said that Cole will throw approximately 40 pitches against Double-A Reading, a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate. The decision to begin his minor-league rehab assignment was made after his throwing session on Wednesday went well with no concerns. A late May or early June return to the major-league roster is the timetable the Yankees are laying out.
“We’re looking forward to him starting on Friday, and then we’ll build him from there,” Boone said, via MLB.com. “Even when he gets back to us [in the Majors], we’ll probably be conservative with him.”
Cole last pitched for the Yankees in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, allowing five unearned runs (due to errors by Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe) on four hits with six strikeouts and four walks.
However, he was limited to 17 starts during the regular season because of nerve irritation and edema in his right elbow. Cole finished with a 3.41 ERA, 8-5 record and 99 strikeouts in 95 innings. During the posteason, he compiled a 2.17 ERA and 1-0 record with 22 strikeouts and 10 walks in 29 innings.
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Carlos Rodón, Anthony Volpe also working way back
In addition to Cole, fellow starting pitcher Carlos Rodón and shortstop Anthony Volpe are on the path back to the major-league roster.
Rodón, 33, has a throwing session scheduled with Somerset on Saturday. If that goes well, he will likely be cleared to begin his rehab assignment. He had surgery in October to remove bone chips and shave down a bone spur in his left elbow. The left-hander also dealt with a left hamstring issue during the spring that set back his recovery.
Volpe, who turns 25 on April 28, will begin his rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Thursday and is set to play three games before moving up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
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The shortstop had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after last season. Volpe initially injured the shoulder last May and aggravated it in September. He batted .212/.272/.391 but received scorn from Yankees fans for the 19 errors he committed at shortstop. (His -7 Outs Above Average were the sixth-worst among MLB shortstops with at least 1,000 innings at the position.)
In Volpe’s absence, José Caballero has batted .186/.238/.305 in 63 plate appearances. In the field, he has three errors in 17 games with 1 Defensive Run Saved and -3 OAA. But Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters last week that Volpe will be the team’s starting shortstop when he returns.
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