THE New York Yankees have a major reinforcement almost ready to rejoin their squad.
Reigning American League Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole completed his first rehab start for the Yankees in the minor leagues on Tuesday.
Cole tossed 3.1 scoreless innings with his fastball reaching 97 mph at Double-A Somerset.
The rehab start was Cole’s first game action of the 2024 season, in which he allowed only two singles and no walks while striking out five batters.
“I haven’t gone through this process in a while, so I’m taking it one start at a time and I’ll let my body tell me when we’re ready,” Cole said.
“I had a lot of adrenaline and had to hold a few back. That’s a good place to be.
“Certainly, if you give me a number scale of where I was six weeks ago, I’d say [I’m] definitely close.
“I’m not sure how many more we’ll need, but definitely closer rather than farther away. It should be right around the corner now.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Tuesday that he expects Cole to make “at least a few” rehab starts before returning to the Bronx.
Cole echoed that sentiment, saying it would “not be a responsible move” to return after just one rehab start despite how good he feels.
The Cy Young-winner was shut down during Spring Training with nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow and didn’t face hitters for the first time until late May.
Anticipation is high for Cole’s return, as he was arguably the most dominant pitcher in baseball last year.
In 207 innings he pitched to a 2.63 ERA with 222 strikeouts and earning a record of 15-4.
While the Yankees are likely itching to get their ace back in the rotation, they don’t exactly need him right now.
The Bronx Bombers entered Tuesday with the best starting-pitching ERA at 2.78. Their worst starter has a 3.56 ERA.
“That’s something we’ll work through as we go,” Boone said.
“When do we want to take him? How many pitches do we want him built up to?
Home runs and boomsticks
MLB is back in London for a third time this summer when the Philadelphia Phillies take on the New York Mets.
The London Stadium will transform from a football pitch to a baseball field for the June 8 and 9 spectacle.
Fans attending the games can feast on some extravagant ballpark menu items such as boomstick nachos (pictured) and a two-foot boomstick hotdog.
The New York Yankees won both games in 2019 against their rivals the Boston Red Sox.
And the Chicago Cubs split their series with the St Louis Cardinals when the teams faced off in 2023.
“Those will all be factored in and we’ll work with Gerrit through that, as well.”
Cole enjoyed his time back on the mound and explained how everything felt good during game action.
“I thought it was really fun overall. It was a nice environment, and it felt really great to be back out there and get back in the flow of things,” Cole said.
“[I was happy with] everything. I threw all my pitches for strikes. I was able to move the ball to both sides of the plate, got the bottom and top of the strike zone, so it was good.
“It was just a lively environment, a nice summer night, the big club is having a good night, so all is well.”
