Yankees get huge news on Gerrit Cole's injury return timeline

Gerrit Cole's comeback is firmly underway.

The New York Yankees' right-handed pitching ace missed the entire 2025 MLB season after Tommy John surgery. He's close to getting back for the 2026 campaign.

Cole isn't expected to be ready for Opening Day.

The desired timeline is now May, according to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner.

Cole threw against live hitters on Friday at Spring Training, touching 97 miles per hour on his fastball.

"The Yankees hope they'll watch Cole pitch in the regular season as early as May," Kirschner writes. "Friday’s outing was the first key step to make that timeline a reality."

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Kirschner adds that Cole's wife and two sons were there to watch his outing on Friday.

Clearly, his comeback from injury has a lot of meaning to a lot of people. 

Last season, the Yankees were planning on having a front of the rotation led by Cole and their new signing, Max Fried.

Instead, Fried had to hold down the ace duties himself. He did a great job, but when injuries to Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil arrived, too, the depth of the rotation was greatly tested.

To win big games, and in postseason series, the Yankees need to have their full allotment of pitching available to them.

Cole is still working his way back. But he's on his way. And that's great news for the Yankees to get on Friday.

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