Gerrit Cole set to begin rehab assignment, starting timeline for Yankees ace's return to rotation

Imagn Images

Gerrit Cole is about to take the next major step in his recovery from the Tommy John procedure he underwent in March of 2025. The New York Yankees' ace will make his first minor-league rehab start on Friday with the club's Double-A affiliate, manager Aaron Boone told reporters, including ESPN, on Wednesday.

"I have no complaints," Cole said earlier this week of a live batting practice session -- the last step before the rehab assignment begins. "Stamina was good. Pitches are fine -- they're good, they're good. I'm being a little nitpicky, but everything's good."

Cole, now 35, suffered the elbow injury during spring training 2025 and had surgery on March 11 of that year. The procedure, which entails reconstructing the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow, typically carries with it a 14-16 month recovery period. Assuming no late setbacks for Cole, he should be in line to rejoin the Yankees rotation in mid-May; pitchers' rehab assignments cannot last more than 30 days.

Cole of course didn't pitch at all in 2025, and during the 2024 season he was limited to 17 starts and 95 innings because of a nerve issue in his elbow, which was unrelated to his eventual torn UCL. In 2023, he won the Cy Young for the first time in his career. Cole for his career has pitched to a 3.18 ERA/130 ERA+ across parts of 12 MLB seasons. Over that span, the six-time All-Star has amassed 153 wins; 2,251 strikeouts in 1,954 innings; and a WAR of 42.6.

The Yankee rotation right now is also without veteran left-hander Carlos Rodón, who's recovering from October surgery to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow. In their absence, lefty co-ace Max Fried and breakout candidate Cam Schlitter have stabilized the front end quite well.

As for the Yankees as a whole, they enter Thursday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels with a 10-8 record on the young season.