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Gerrit Cole is finally ready for his return to the New York Yankees since undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Cole will make his 2026 season debut on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays – his first start for the Yankees since 2024.
Cole, 35, missed the entire 2025 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a torn right UCL.
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Gerrit Cole pitches for the Hudson Valley Renegades during Thursday’s game against the Brooklyn Cyclones, April 23, 2026. (Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The Yankees’ starting pitching staff has been an exceptional group to start the 2026 campaign, but Cole’s return comes at a perfect time with fellow forward Max Fried on injured reserve with his own elbow injury. He is expected to miss about a month.
Manager Aaron Boone, who announced Cole’s trade Tuesday before the team’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, said Monday that the Yankees planned to stick with the original plan of allowing Cole to make a seventh and final rehab start before his season debut with the team.
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“We’ll see,” he said before the Yankees won their series opener against the Blue Jays. “We’re kind of talking about it here today, tomorrow, and we’ll make a call one way or another.”
The writing seemed to be on the wall, however, as the Yankees selected Elmer Rodriguez, who started in place of Fried against the New York Mets this weekend, to return to Triple-A. They called up reliever Yovanny Cruz instead of having another starter in the clubhouse.
Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees stands for the national anthem during a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium in New York on April 16, 2026. (New York Yankees/Getty Images)
Cole hasn’t pitched for the Yankees since Game 4 of the 2024 World Series, making this a true return for the franchise ace. However, the Yankees have since seen quality pitching elsewhere, including an unexpected spot this season.
Cam Schlitter, the 6-foot-6 flamethrower, is in the running for the American League Cy Young Award winner. He currently leads the league in ERA (1.35) in his 10 outings, six of which are considered quality starts. He has 68 strikeouts on 11 walks in 60 total innings, cementing himself as the ace of the staff at the moment.
Schlittler’s big moment came for the Yankees in Game 3 of their Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox last postseason, but he followed it up by showing it wasn’t a one-off moment. Instead, he’s been the Yankees’ most consistent starter in a group filled with elite talent like Fried, Carlos Rodon and now Cole.
Now, Cole hasn’t had the best numbers in his rehab starts, owning a 5.28 ERA in 29 innings over six outings. However, his metrics checked the boxes, including a fastball that peaked at 99.6 mph last Saturday in what was his best rehab outing. He allowed just one run on six hits.
Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees warms up before a game against the Boston Red Sox at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 18, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. The Yankees beat the Red Sox 1-0. (Photo by Leah King/Diamond Images via Getty Images) (Leah King/Diamant Images via Getty Images)
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“He looks really good,” Boone added. “I think that [latest] “The outing was a little bit more with probably the competition in mind, like going to take the guys out and step on them in terms of things.”
Cole won the AL Cy Young in 2023 and has been the Yankees’ ace since signing with the franchise in 2019 to a nine-year, $324 million contract.
