Gerrit Cole has progressed to throwing off a mound in his recovery from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March, according to a video posted to his Instagram Stories on Saturday.
In the clip, Cole delivers a strike while standing on a mound in the Yankees’ bullpen.
He started his throwing program back in August with 20 pitches off flat ground, and while he’s not expected to be ready for Opening Day, it still marked a promising step for the Yankees’ ace.
Cole, who will turn 36 during the 2026 season, appeared in two spring training games last year and then underwent the UCL procedure on March 11, forcing the Yankees to navigate all of last season — which lasted until an ALDS exit — without the 2023 Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star.
It wasn’t the only pitching absence they dealt with, either, as reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil didn’t make his first start until August and Clarke Schmidt had Tommy John surgery July 11.
Schmidt isn’t expected to return until after the All-Star break next season at the earliest, while general manager Brian Cashman estimated that Carlos Rodón wouldn’t be back until April or early May after having surgery to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur in his left elbow.
Cole’s return, though, looms as a major variable for the Yankees’ pitching plans next year.
He’s an aging starter who made just 17 starts during the 2024 regular season and collected a 3.41 ERA.
But Cole rediscovering his vintage form would give the Yankees a powerful 1-2 punch alongside Max Fried, and they have Rodón, Gil, Schmidt and young flamethrower Cam Schlittler as options for the final rotation spots when completely healthy, too.
“I was fairly accurate and had a good time,” Cole said in August after the first session of his throwing program. “It’s a big one, first day throwing. Been building up to it for a few weeks, so it’s nice to get outside and get it accomplished and have it go well.”
There are still plenty of other steps and checkpoints for Cole before he returns to the actual Yankee Stadium mound in a game setting.
But in an arduous recovery, his latest one — and the glimpse he provided — still marked plenty of progress.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
