NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole, who last pitched for the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, is ending his rehab assignment early and will make his season debut Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays, manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday.
The 2023 Cy Young Award winner was scheduled to make one more minor-league start, but instead will return to bolster a depleted rotation for this weekend’s series versus the Rays, who are in first place in the American League East, three games up on New York.
The Yankees demoted starter Elmer Rodríguez to Triple A on Monday and promoted reliever Yovanny Cruz to the majors, creating an opening in their rotation for Friday’s game. Cole, who has been working his way back from Tommy John surgery, will be starting on five days’ rest.
Cole’s last start was Saturday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he looked like his vintage self. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing six hits, one walk and one run with six strikeouts across 86 total pitches. He touched 99.6 mph with his four-seamer and averaged 97 mph. That is notable because Cole’s fastball has not averaged at least 97 mph since 2022.
“He looks really good,” Boone said of Cole. “I think I’ve watched every pitch he’s made in rehab. I think it’s gone really well.
“He’s checked a lot of the boxes, and I feel like his last start was mostly excellent.”
It’s difficult to glean much from stat lines of rehabbing pitchers because, in some outings, the pitcher is working on specific things that may not follow a prototypical game plan. But, encouragingly, Cole has walked only four across 29 innings (six starts) during his rehab assignment. Command tends to be hit-or-miss for pitchers returning from Tommy John surgery, but Cole has excelled so far.
Cole underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2025 and missed all of last season. His impending return to the big leagues coincides with the Yankees being without their ace, left-hander Max Fried, who was placed on the injured list Friday with a bone bruise in his left elbow.
There’s no timeline for Fried’s return, but the blow of losing one of MLB’s best pitchers will be lessened for the Yankees by activating Cole, one of the best pitchers of his generation, this weekend.