Gerrit Cole Returning To Mound For 1st Time Since Surgery

Gerrit Cole saw his season end last year before it even began. On March 11th 2025, Cole underwent Tommy john, keeping him out for the entirety of the year. He is still a ways away from returning to the rotation, but Cole is scheduled to start on Wednesday against the Red Sox in Spring Training.

“It’s definitely exciting,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “Obviously, I think everyone’s been excited just how good he’s looked. The fact that he’s getting into a game now just indicates where he is and how well it is going."

Gerrit Cole is expected to pitch 1 inning. From there, they will see how he feels and, more importantly, see how his arm reacts the next day. If all goes as plan they can continue to ramp up his workload from there. But pitching for the Yankees in the regular season may still need to wait until late May or early June.

Cole, 35, has not pitched a full season since 2023, when he won the Cy Young and finished with a 2.63 ERA. He missed the start of 2024 with Elbow Discomfort. When he felt that again at the start of 2025, they opted to shut him down and have the Tommy John surgery.

Obviously, he will miss significant time again this year. Likely 2 months. But the hope is he can ramp up from there and be at full strength for when it matters late in the season.

In the meantime, the Yankees will also start the year without Carlos Rondon and Cam Schlittler. Both will begin the season on the Il like Cole. Putting significant strain on their rotation to open the season.