Gerrit Cole’s minor league rehab assignment appears to be progressing nicely. The New York Yankees right-hander made his second rehab start for Double-A Somerset and threw 57 pitches in his Sunday afternoon outing.
Pitching 4 2/3 innings against the Hartford Yard Goats (an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies), Cole allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts. He threw 44 pitches for strikes. According Randy Ritte, NJ.com reporterr, Cole’s speed ranged between 92 and 96 mph.
The only run came on a first-inning home run by infielder Ryan Ritter. (MLB.com currently ranks Ritter as the Rockies’ No. 12 prospect.)
Cole is scheduled to make at least one more start in rehab. If he follows the normal four days of rest he would have during the rotation, he will pitch on Friday. The Yankees have not announced whether he will return to pitch for their Double-A affiliate or their Triple-A team. Somerset will play at Binghamton on Friday, while Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will be at Rochester.
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner has yet to pitch for the Yankees this season after being inactive during spring training with right elbow inflammation. In Cole’s first rehab start, he threw 45 pitches in 3 2/3 innings.
Aaron Boone was asked about the possibility of Gerrit Cole joining the Yankees without being fully prepared:
“I think he may not come to us, call it 100 pitches or whatever. What that point is, I don’t know. That hasn’t been decided yet.” pic.twitter.com/0PjFBbZBCi
– Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2024
Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged the possibility that Cole could rejoin the team despite not being stretched to throw 100 pitches. He would probably need two more rehab starts to hit that number of pitches.
“I think he might not come to us, call it 100 pitches or whatever.” Boone said Saturday. “What that point is, I don’t know. That hasn’t been decided yet.”
If Cole joins the first-place Yankees after his next rehab start, that would likely occur during their home series against the Baltimore Orioles on May 18-20. New York’s starting rotation currently leads the American League with a 2.82 ERA.