NEW YORK (AP) — Less than 24 hours after throwing 4 1/3 innings in his minor league rehabilitation start for Double-A Somerset, New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was pleased with his first outing since Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the entire 2025 season.
“Just a lot of strike throwing and pretty solid delivery overall from a little of the stuff I looked at,” Cole said Saturday before the Yankees continued a three-game series against the Royals.
Cole allowed three runs and three hits, including a two-run homer. The right-hander walked one, struck out three and threw 36 of his 44 pitches for strikes against Reading, a Phillies affiliate.
“I’ve seen some of it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I think good. Velo sounds like 95, 96. I think the fastball is mostly how he wanted. He wanted to just get in the heart of the plate there early and then try to move it around a little bit, facing a fair amount of lefties.
“Was able to work in the changeup, which I know he wanted to do. I think the curveball was a good pitch for him. So, all in all, I think a really strong another step for him.”
Cole threw mostly fastballs along with some curveballs and changeups. He noted the velocity was higher than earlier this week, when threw 42 pitches in a simulated game on Sunday at Single-A Hudson Valley.
“It brought the fastball back,” Cole said. “It brought the velocities back up a few miles an hour, relative to the lives, and other than that it was a pretty casual thing.”
Cole was expected to throw around 45 pitches. He pitched the second inning after waiting through a five-run inning by Somerset that took about 20 minutes.
A six-time All-Star and the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner, Cole is returning from reconstructive elbow surgery last year. The 35-year-old made a pair of one-inning spring training starts on March 18 and 24 and had been facing hitters before getting into a minor league game.
Cole is expected to get several more rehab starts with a gradual buildup to his pitch count before returning to the Yankees, who will take advantage of rules about the length of minor league rehab assignments for pitchers coming back from injury.
While position players’ minor league rehab assignments are limited to 20 days, pitchers have 30 days and those recovering from Tommy John surgery may receive three consecutive 10-day extensions.
Cole’s last major league outing came in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. He made a pair of spring training starts last year before undergoing surgery with Los Angeles Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Cole’s 2024 season debut was delayed until June 19 because of nerve irritation and edema in his right elbow. He went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts for New York and was 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA in five postseason starts.
Cole is signed to a $324 million, nine-year contract through 2028. He has a 153-80 career record and 3.18 ERA over 317 starts with Pittsburgh (2013-17), Houston (2018-19) and the Yankees (beginning in 2020).
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