Yankees announce thrilling update on Gerrit Cole's Spring Training progress

Earlier this spring, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone mentioned that Gerrit Cole might make an appearance in a spring training game. 

Cole is nearing a return from Tommy John Surgery rehab. The 35-year-old went under the knife last March, forcing him to sit out the entire 2025 season. He last pitched in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. 

He's targeting a late May to early June return date, but the Yankees will have an opportunity to see how he looks on a mound earlier than that.

According to the New York Post's Joel Sherman, Cole will make his first start since surgery on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox. This is obviously huge news for the organization, but it's to be expected that he only throws an inning or two at most. 

Cole is returning to the mound tomorrow 

Cole understands that there's still a lot of work to be done in his rehab, despite being able to face live batters who aren't his teammates tomorrow. 

"It just means I can go compete," Cole told Sherman. "It means I have done the work up to this point to go into a situation where things are a bit uncontrolled, and you have to go perform."

Cole won the AL Cy Young Award in 2023 and is entering the sixth year of a nine-year pact with the Yankees. He made 33 starts in back-to-back seasons from 2022-23 and led the American League with a 165 ERA+ three seasons ago.

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