Gerrit Cole's Comeback Starts Friday, and the Yankees Are Finally Getting Their Ace Back
After nearly a year away from the mound following Tommy John surgery last March, Gerrit Cole is about to pitch in an actual game again. Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Wednesday that the ace will make his first rehab start Friday with Double-A Somerset, and honestly, it feels like the baseball gods are throwing New York a bone after making them wait this long.
Cole's Ready, and He Knows It
The 35-year-old right-hander has been ramping up his workload carefully over the past few weeks. On Sunday, Cole threw 42 pitches over three innings in a live batting practice session, and by his own account, he felt great about it.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at Kalshi"I have no complaints," Cole said Monday. "Stamina was good. Pitches are fine, they're good, they're good. I'm being a little nitpicky, but everything's good."
Before Wednesday's game, Boone was weighing whether Cole would pitch in an actual game or run through another simulated setting. He decided to send Cole to Somerset for real action Friday. The six-time All-Star and 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner last pitched competitively in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, so this is legitimately a massive moment for the Yankees' rotation.
Cole Heading to Somerset with Company
Cole won't be the only big name rehabbing with Somerset. Shortstop Anthony Volpe, who had surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder in October, already got his first game back in Tuesday. Volpe played five innings at shortstop and went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts against Zack Wheeler, a rehabbing Philadelphia Phillies ace.
Volpe was back at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday going through drill work pregame, and he's scheduled to return to Somerset to play Thursday, Friday, and Sunday before potentially moving up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre next week.
Meanwhile, left-hander Carlos Rodón, who had surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow in October, is taking a different path. Boone said Rodón will throw another live batting practice session Saturday instead of starting a rehab assignment. Rodón threw 50 pitches in a simulated setting Monday at Yankee Stadium.
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