Gerrit Cole’s minor league rehab assignment appears to be progressing nicely. The New York Yankees right-hander made his second rehab start for Double-A Somerset and threw 57 pitches in his Sunday afternoon outing.
Pitching 4 2/3 innings versus the Hartford Yard Goats (a Colorado Rockies affiliate), Cole allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts. He threw 44 pitches for strikes. According to NJ.com reporter Randy Ritter, Cole’s velocity ranged between 92 and 96 mph.
The lone run came on a first-inning home run by infielder Ryan Ritter. (MLB.com currently ranks Ritter as the Rockies’ No. 12 prospect.)
Cole is scheduled to make at least one more rehab start. If he follows the normal four days of rest he would get through the rotation, he’ll pitch on Friday. The Yankees haven’t announced whether he’ll pitch again for their Double-A affiliate or their Triple-A team. Somerset will play at Binghamton on Friday, while Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is at Rochester.
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner hasn’t yet pitched for the Yankees this season after being shut down during spring training with right elbow inflammation. In Cole’s first rehab start, he threw 45 pitches in 3 2/3 innings.
Aaron Boone was asked about the possibility of Gerrit Cole joining the Yankees while not being fully stretched out:
“I think that’s possible that he doesn’t come to us at, call it 100 pitches or whatever. What that point is, I don’t know. That hasn’t been decided yet.” pic.twitter.com/0PjFBbZBCi
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2024
Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged the possibility that Cole could rejoin the team despite not being stretched out to throw 100 pitches. He would probably need two more rehab starts to reach that pitch count.
“I think that’s possible that he doesn’t come to us at, call it 100 pitches or whatever,” Boone said on Saturday. “What that point is, I don’t know. That hasn’t been decided yet.”
If Cole joins the first-place Yankees after his next rehab start, that would likely come during their home series with the Baltimore Orioles from May 18-20. New York’s starting rotation currently leads the AL with a 2.82 ERA.
