Alexander Wilson
It’s been a rough two weeks for the New York Yankees, and the offense hasn’t been the only problem. But relief is coming from multiple directions, and when Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Anthony Volpe are all back in the fold, this team starts looking a lot more like the contender they were supposed to be entering the season.
None of these returns are going to happen overnight, but all three are getting close, and the timing matters. Let’s break down what each one actually means.
Anthony Volpe
Volpe is a polarizing player among Yankees fans, and there’s legitimate reason for that. He’s never been an above-average offensive player through three seasons in the big leagues. His best wRC+ was 83, meaning he was 17% below the league average in his strongest offensive stretch. That’s not a franchise cornerstone bat, and the Yankees know that.
But here’s the thing: Ryan McMahon is hitting .119 with a 25 wRC+ and has been one of the worst hitters in baseball all season long. Volpe’s defensive value at shortstop is real and well established, and more importantly, his return allows the Yankees to shift the infield alignment in ways that help the whole group function better. Putting Caballero at third base and getting McMahon out of a starting role, or at least reducing his exposure in critical situations, is a net positive even if Volpe isn’t going to carry the lineup offensively.
The labrum surgery should resolve the throwing issues that plagued his defense last season. He went from a Gold Glove shortstop to one of the worst defenders at the position in baseball, and the medical staff has been clear that the shoulder was the root cause. If the surgery did what it was supposed to do, that version of Volpe comes back. That alone makes him more valuable than the current situation at shortstop.
Gerrit Cole
Cole starts his rehab assignment in Double-A on Friday, which puts him on track to be in the Yankees rotation within three to four weeks barring any setbacks. Thirteen months removed from Tommy John surgery, he’s been nothing but encouraging in his spring appearances, with velocity back and his secondary pitches showing their shape.
Nobody should expect the 2023 version of Cole to just show up and dominate from the first inning of his first start back. Tommy John recoveries are not linear, and the first few starts are always about building confidence and feel rather than peak performance. But even 75% of Cole is a legitimate top-of-the-rotation arm. His 2024 season ended at 3.41 ERA over 95 innings, and that was with a compromised elbow that likely cost him command and velocity before the decision to shut him down was made.
A healthy Cole changes how opposing teams approach this rotation entirely. Max Fried has been the anchor, and Cam Schlittler has been excellent, but Cole’s presence shifts everything into a different tier.
Carlos Rodon
Rodon has a rehab assignment coming up on the heels of a live batting practice session Saturday in which the hamstring held up. His full record with the Yankees shows what this team already knows about him: when healthy, he’s one of the better left-handed starters in the American League. His 3.09 ERA over 195.1 innings last season was the best of his career in pinstripes.
The elbow procedure he had in October was a cleanup rather than a reconstruction, and the hamstring issue that complicated his timeline has been described as minor. If the rehab assignment goes smoothly, Rodon could be back in the rotation by early May.
Having both Cole and Rodon available gives Aaron Boone significantly more flexibility throughout the entire pitching staff. Starters who have been stretched thin can be managed more carefully. Bullpen arms who’ve been overworked early in the season get some rest. The whole machine runs better when the rotation is actually full.
This team has been fighting with one hand behind its back. Three weeks from now, it might finally have both.
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