There are days in spring training that feel like formalities. Guys running laps, shagging flies, going through the motions under the Florida sun. Then there are days that actually matter. Friday at George Steinbrenner Field? That was the latter.
Gerrit Cole stepped onto a mound and faced live hitters for the first time since going under the knife for Tommy John surgery last spring.
One inning. That’s all it was. But what happened in that inning told you everything you needed to know about where this man’s head is at — and where the 2025 Yankees might be headed.
He sat mid-90s. Touched 96. Struck out Trent Grisham on a high fastball that had the kind of late life you just don’t manufacture after major elbow reconstruction. His mechanics looked fluid, almost effortless, like a guy who never left. Yeah, Jasson Dominguez made hard contact. Fine. Aaron Judge — the best hitter on the planet — rolled one over to second base. That’s a win. That’s a big win.
The Mental Mountain Is Already Behind Him
Here’s the thing people don’t talk about enough with Tommy John recoveries: the physical rehab is brutal, but the mental side can break you. You’ve seen pitchers come back tentatively, almost flinching on the mound, scared of what the next pitch might cost them. Cole showed none of that. He attacked hitters. His command wasn’t erratic or timid. He threw with conviction, which means the demon — that voice in the back of every pitcher’s head after elbow surgery — is already gone.
That’s not a small detail. That’s the story.
A Rotation That’s Starting to Look Terrifying
Max Fried also threw on Friday, by the way. The Yankees quietly constructed one of the most formidable top-two punch combinations in baseball in the 2024-25 offseason, and when Cole is fully back and stretched out, this rotation is going to be a legitimate problem for every team in the American League if it remains healthy.
Cole’s 2024 World Series numbers still don’t feel real — a 0.71 ERA across 12.2 innings on the biggest stage the sport offers. That’s not luck. That’s a pitcher operating at an elite, almost unfair level. The Yankees know exactly what they’re getting when he’s right. And he’s trending in that direction.
He won’t be on the Opening Day roster, and honestly that’s the smart play. There’s talk of a late April return, which gives the front office time to stretch him out properly without rushing the process. The Yankees are being disciplined about this, and discipline is exactly what Tommy John recoveries demand.
When He’s Ready, The Race Changes
The AL East is already shaping up to be a war. Baltimore is hungry. Toronto spent money. Boston still has talent. But none of those teams have what the Yankees are about to unleash — a fully healthy Gerrit Cole sliding into a rotation that already has a legitimate number one at the top.
Friday was one inning of live BP in mid-February. Low stakes, controlled environment, nothing on the line. And Cole still looked like the best pitcher in the building. Come late April, when he takes that first regular season start, the rest of the league is going to feel it.
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