The New York Yankees announced a number of roster moves and notable developments on their roster over the past two days, including a positive update on ace Gerrit Cole.
The Yanks confirmed Wednesday that Cole is moving from High-A to Double-A in his rehab assignment, continuing to progress in his return from Tommy John surgery, which forced him to miss the entire 2025 season. The Yankees are targeting a May or June return for Cole, who last pitched for the Yankees in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series on Oct. 30, 2024.
Despite missing their top starting pitcher, the Yankees have the league’s best team ERA anyway, at 3.11 entering Thursday. Key to their success has been baseball’s second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.15).
In addition to Cole, Carlos Rodon is making progress in his own injury recovery. The Yankees announced Thursday that they’re transferring Rodon from High-A Hudson Valley to Double-A Somerset. Rodon is recovering from October surgery to remove bone spurs in his throwing elbow.
The Yankees also announced Wednesday that veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk was designated for assignment. Grichuk had posted a .535 OPS in 31 at-bats over 16 games for New York in the early-going of the 2026 season. And that’s despite displaying some pop, as he’s on track to record the second-highest hard-hit percentage of his career (54.5%).
To take Grichuk’s spot on the roster, the Yankees called up pitcher Elmer Rodriguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.