New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole took one step closer to a Major League return on Tuesday, May 21, when he threw 20 pitches from the Yankee Stadium mound.
Cole did so in full uniform, “because I missed it,” he said, throwing mostly fastballs to Yankees hitters Oswaldo Cabrera and Jahmai Jones.
With no setbacks yet in his rehab from an elbow injury he suffered in the spring, Cole told reporters his return may only be weeks away.
Asked point-blank if a June return to the Yankees rotation was a realistic goal, Cole said, “I wouldn’t rule it out.”
His manager, Aaron Boone, agreed, but preached caution as the reigning American League Cy Young winner starts to build up his arm.
“I guess it’s possible. I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves in this and start predicting,” Boone said. “Things are going well, and that was another big step. He’ll probably have another couple of these, and then we start to build from there.”
Still, all signs were positive from Cole on Tuesday. His fastball hit 96 on the radar gun, causing pitching coach Matt Blake to try and rein him in.
“I had to dial the fastball back, which is a good sign,” Cole said. “I thought the sliders were sharp, the curveballs. Everything was really sharp except for the changeup, which was just a little pushed beneath the zone. But we worked the fastball up and down well. The spin was pretty good.
“ … Sometimes you don’t realize it comes out quite so hot. I wasn’t intending to throw it 96. It’s a good sign.”
The Yankees Rotation is an Unexpected Strength Without Gerrit Cole
Even with Cole healthy, the Yankees were not expected to have one of the best starting rotations in the American League. Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon were coming off of lost, injury-plagued seasons in 2023 and it was fair to ask if either would be able to recapture their form of the year before.
They both have, making 10 starts apiece and posting strong numbers. The Yankees are 7-3 in Rodon’s starts, and after an erratic start to the year, opponents are hitting under .200 off of Cortes in May.
Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt have been even better and are among the hottest pitchers in the game. Schmidt has not allowed an earned run in his last 15.2 innings pitched and Stroman has ceded just 2 over his last 18.
Then there’s Luis Gil, who missed all of last year and had just seven games total of big-league experience. He’s been arguably the team’s best starter, going 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA in nine starts. Gil currently leads the Majors in fewest hits allowed per nine inning (4.776).
Tough Decisions Upcoming
If the Yankees stay healthy as Cole works his way back, Boone is going to have a tough decision to make.
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reported on May 20 that Gil might be sent to the bullpen to make room for Cole as a way to monitor the 25-year-old’s workload.
It certainly makes sense. Gil has already far exceeded his Major League career high in innings pitched and never exceeded 100 innings in the minors. He’s at 49 innings as of this writing.
But if the Yankees keep winning and Gil keeps dominating, it will be tough to take him out of the rotation. Schmidt would be the next-most-logical candidate, but he’s been similarly impressive.
Cole’s return might instead spur some calls for a six-man rotation, which could keep each of the Yankees’ prized arms fresh. Pitchers are creatures of habit, however, and adding an extra day of rest is always a risk.
Whatever Boone decides to do, it’s a problem he would welcome. It would mean the Yankees have stayed healthy — something they’ve rarely been able to say in recent years — and their pitchers have stayed productive. If that proves to be the case, then the Yankees will also probably remain at or near the top of the American League East, maybe even with a couple trade chips to make a big trade deadline move.
