Yankees' Anthony Volpe set to start rehab assignment Tuesday and Gerrit Cole could soon follow

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe was set to start an injury rehabilitation assignment Tuesday and ace pitcher Gerrit Cole could soon begin minor league outings. Recovering from left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14, Volpe expected to get medical clearance Monday night to report to Double-A Somerset. He had been working out at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Florida. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Volpe likely will play three to five innings in his first games. “He'll probably play in four games this week with Somerset and then go from there and build them up kind of like spring training, although he’s had over 50 live at-bats down there and has had a lot of work at shortstop getting out on defense,” Boone said. “So he’s a little ahead of the game from when you would start spring training probably.” Volpe, who turns 25 on April 28, hurt the shoulder last May 3 and returned to the lineup two days later but struggled for much of the season. He had a pair of cortisone shots and hit .212 with 19 homers and a career-high 72 RBIs. Cole, a six-time All-Star and the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner, is returning from reconstructive elbow surgery on March 11 last year. He made a pair of one-inning spring training starts on March 18 and 24, and has been facing hitters. In his latest session, Cole threw 42 pitches over three simulated innings on Sunday against batters from High-A Hudson Valley. Boone said Cole will throw again Friday and the team had not yet decided whether it would be another batting practice session or his first minor league rehab outing. “We’re really kind of taking it week to week, and I don't even know what the number is going to be on Friday,” Cole said of his pitch count. Cole's arm feels far better than before the surgery. “It’s definitely a different arm,” he said. “There’s still the same recovery patterns. I think the more and more I stay on like a rotation, the more I go through these cycles of adapting, getting sore, adapting, getting sore adapting, which is normal. ... The way the ball’s kind of coming out, the ability to get through the baseball a little bit better and then from the recovery standpoint is more normal prior to having some injuries.” Cole's last official outing was in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. While position players' minor league rehab assignments are limited to 20 days, pitchers have 30 days and those recovering from Tommy John surgery may receive three consecutive 10-day extensions. Left-hander Carlos Rodón threw 50 pitches to batters over three simulated innings before Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Rodón is recovering from surgery on Oct. 15 to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and shave a bone spur, and his rehab was slowed by right hamstring tightness. Boone said Rodón will throw again on Saturday and the team also had not decided whether it would be more batting practice or a minor league game. \\\_ AP MLB: