Yankees’ Gerrit Cole breaks silence on injury recovery

The New York Yankees have been without ace Gerrit Cole for the first month of the 2024 season after he felt discomfort in his elbow in spring training. The Bronx Bombers ultimately placed him on the 60-day IL, but Cole took a huge step toward a return on Saturday. The veteran finally threw off a mound and spoke after to reporters.

Via MLB.com:

“It’s a good step,” Cole said. “This is the most taste I’ve had of [pitching] in months, and I do miss it.”

Cole didn’t start throwing a baseball until mid-April and he’s gradually built up his rehab from there. Saturday was his first time on the hill since Grapefruit League action, where the righty had soreness longer than usual between outings. The Yankees had Cole get testing to see if he needed surgery on his UCL, but thankfully, he didn’t need a procedure.

Skipper Aaron Boone felt very optimistic after Cole’s bullpen, too:

“I think everyone in this room understands Gerrit Cole, who he is, how much he loves what he does, and obviously, how good he is at it,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So it’s just the process of getting back, another step along the way to getting him back. Glad we were able to get to this point today. Onward and upward.”

Yankees rotation stepping up in absence of Gerrit Cole

A lot of fans and analysts believed the Yankees rotation would struggle without Cole at the top. But, it’s actually been the complete opposite. They have a 3.43 ERA as a rotation, which is eighth in the bigs. Overall, the staff owns a 3.01 ERA. That’s second in the Majors.

Luis Gil is making his presence felt in place of Cole, compiling a 3.19 ERA in six outings to go along with a 2-1 record. The likes of Marcus Stroman, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Nestor Cortes all have ERAs under four as well.

Opportunities have opened up without Gerrit Cole and it’s also resulted in everyone else stepping up. That’s impressed the Yankees manager:

“One of the reasons we have the record we have is because our starters give us a really good chance every night, almost without fail,” Boone said. “Those guys have been excellent. … they’ve done a really good job giving us that opportunity to win a ballgame every single night. And obviously, when you have a guy like Gerrit down, you know, it’s imperative for guys to step up, and it opens up opportunities.”

Gerrit Cole won the AL Cy Young last year after several seasons of just falling short. He’s not eligible to come off the IL until May 27th. The next step for Cole will probably be another bullpen before throwing to live hitters. That’ll lead to a rehab assignment in the next couple of weeks, as long as the elbow responds well.

The Yankees are currently 21-13, sitting one game behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East. They’re in the midst of a three-game weekend series with the Detroit Tigers in the Bronx.