BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Gerrit Cole took a huge step Friday night at TD Bank Ballpark in his long journey back to The Bronx, making his first rehab start (Double-A Somerset) since undergoing Tommy John surgery more than 13 months ago.
But the Yankees ace’s rust was evident in his 4 ¹/₃-inning outing, as he allowed three runs (one home run), three hits and one walk, while throwing 44 pitches (36 strikes), with three strikeouts.
The 2023 AL Cy Young winner, who isn’t expected to rejoin the Yankees until late May or early June, hadn’t pitched in an official game since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.
“His recovery was a lot longer than mine, but I saw every step of it and I know how hard he worked,” said shortstop Anthony Volpe, who made his third rehab start in his return from left shoulder surgery. “He helped me a lot. To see it all come to fruition, the road back … I know it’s a big milestone.”
Cole entered to a standing ovation, giving the minor league crowd a rare chance to see a future Hall of Famer at the 6,100-seat ballpark.
Even rarer was a major league star who may have been just as excited to be there, making his long-awaited return to the mound.
Cole opened a perfect first frame by inducing a soft grounder to second. The right-hander nearly surrendered a laser home run to right to Reading’s second batter, Carson DeMartini, but the ball drifted foul, allowing Cole to recover with a swing-and-miss breaking ball for a strikeout.
Before returning for the second inning, Cole was thrown a curveball when his temporary teammates batted around the order in a five-run bottom of the first.
Following the unexpected delay, Cole issued a one-out walk, then surrendered a two-out, run-scoring double, followed by an opposite-field, two-run homer.
Cole — whose fastball was consistently in the mid-90s — needed just four pitches to get through both the third and fourth innings, allowing him to go deeper into the game than anticipated. The 35-year-old finished his night by fielding his position, then headed to the dugout to the loudest applause of the evening.
Cole, who threw 42 pitches during a simulated game at High-A Hudson Valley on Sunday, made two appearances in spring training, throwing a total of 2 ²/₃ innings.
“It’s one step at a time,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday. “We’ll build him from [Friday] and then even when he gets back to us, we’ll probably be conservative with him.”
Cole isn’t the only nine-figure starter Boone is expecting back in the near future.
Carlos Rodón — who underwent surgery on his left elbow in October — is scheduled to throw live batting practice Saturday at Somerset after throwing 50 pitches in a simulated setting Monday at Yankee Stadium. Rodón, 33, had been on the verge of making a rehab start, but suffered a setback two weeks ago when he felt tightness in his hamstring.
“We’re very excited to get those guys back,” Boone said Friday. “We know how good they are their entire careers. We know what they’re capable of. But it’s a process, too, of getting them back, they’re still a little ways off. The biggest thing right now is making sure they’re checking all the boxes and getting built up properly and then hopefully, when they enter back into the rotation we get the impact we hope and expect.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
