Once Max Fried hit the IL with an elbow issue last week, the Yankees were in a bit of an awkward spot. They had a former Cy Young award winner nearing the very end of a lengthy rehab process, yet it seemed like he might not be quite ready to fill in now that his co-ace was injured.
But after seeing their erstwhile ace brush 100 mph in his most recent start for Scranton, the Yankees decided they’d seen enough. Gerrit Cole is back.
Aaron Boone announced today that Cole will make his first start at the major-league level this year on Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander is set to throw his first meaningful pitch for the Yankees in over a year and a half.
He looks ready. Cole topped out at 99.6 mph over the weekend and sat 97 mph on his four-seam fastball, higher than his average fastball velocity in both 2023 and 2024. After a gradual ramp-up over the course of his minor-league rehab assignment, Cole ran his pitch count up to 86 in his last start, suggesting he’s close to fully built-up. He also threw a bullpen session at Yankee Stadium earlier this afternoon that, after Cole came out of it well, likely sealed the Yankees’ decision.
Cole seemed like an obvious option once the Yankees sent Elmer Rodríguez, who made one spot start in place of Fried, back down to Triple-A. Having Cole make one last rehab start in which he pushed his pitch count past 90 might’ve been a nice luxury in a world in which the Yankees led the AL East and had a rotation full of high-level starters. Now, Fried is recovering and the Rays are coming to town with the division lead in hand. Rather than cobble together some sort of bullpen game, Boone will hand the ball to Cole to face Tampa.
It’s been a shaky stretch for the Yankees the last week or two, but they have a chance this week to demonstrably turn the tide. They play host to division rivals all week, and now get their former ace back looking ready to go. It’s time for them to make a move and close the gap with the Rays in the AL East.
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