It’s official: Gerrit Cole returns to a regular-season mound on Friday.
The Yankees and Double-A Somerset Patriots announced Thursday that Cole will begin a rehab assignment with the Patriots on Friday night, his first “official” action since the 2024 World Series.
Cole had Tommy John surgery last spring, and pitched in two Grapefruit League games as part of his ramp-up of rehab. He has been throwing sim games and live BPs since then, and per Aaron Boone, will throw about 40 pitches on Friday.
Putchers recovering from Tommy John procedures are allowed to go beyond the usual 30-day rehab windows, so Friday starting Cole’s clock still puts him in line for a mid-June return at the latest.
In other good news for the Yankees, Carlos Rodon is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session in Somerset on Saturday, and if all goes well, he should advance to a rehab assignment.
Boone said Rodon will likely need three rehab starts to be ready, as he threw three innings and approximately 50 pitches in his last live BP session (and should ramp up Saturday), so looking ahead at a potential schedule, that kind of timeline would line Rodon up to return to the Yankees somewhere in the first 10 days of May.
