Alexander Wilson
The cavalry is coming. Aaron Boone confirmed Wednesday that Gerrit Cole will begin a rehab assignment in Double-A on Friday, marking the first step in what should be a full return to the rotation for the Yankees’ ace within the next few weeks. After 13 months away following Tommy John surgery, Cole is finally pitching in real games again, and for a New York Yankees team that has been navigating the season without him and Carlos Rodon, this is massive news.
Cole has looked tremendous in his limited spring appearances, which were always the encouraging part of this whole situation. The velo has been back. The breaking ball has had its shape. The command looked sharp in two-inning stints. That’s about as much as you can ask from a pitcher coming back from a ligament reconstruction, and he passed every one of those early tests. Now it’s time to actually build him up in a real game environment.
What Cole Brings Back
The last time Cole pitched in a real game that mattered, he was clearly dealing with something. His 2024 season ended after 95 innings with a 3.41 ERA that looked fine on the surface but masked declining velocity and a walk rate that was trending in the wrong direction. Those are the symptoms of a pitcher fighting through discomfort, not a pitcher who has lost his ability. The surgery addressed the underlying issue, and if the spring is any indication, the underlying pitcher is very much still there.
When he’s right, Cole is as good as anyone in the American League. He won the Cy Young in 2023 posting a historically dominant season, and even at 35, there’s no reason to think the fundamentals have eroded. Tommy John recoveries have become more refined over the years, and the Yankees were extremely careful about his ramp-up timeline. This wasn’t rushed.
The realistic expectation shouldn’t be the 2023 version of Cole right away. Getting 75% of that for the second half of the season would be a massive addition to what is already a solid rotation. Max Fried at the top, Cole sliding back in behind him, and then Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers filling out the rest of the group, that’s a genuinely competitive pitching staff for October.
What His Return Does for the Roster
Beyond just adding another arm, Cole’s return gives Aaron Boone some flexibility with how he constructs the rest of his staff. Weathers and Warren have been holding things down and doing a reasonable job, but neither one needs to shoulder as heavy a workload once Cole is fully integrated. Those arms can be managed more carefully, their pitch counts kept lower, with Cole absorbing innings at the top of the rotation.
Not to mention, Carlos Rodon isn’t far behind either. The Yankees are about to go from a patchwork rotation held together by hope and solid fundamentals to having their actual pitching staff back. The timing couldn’t be better.
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