The Yankees could likely use ace Gerrit Cole when he is ready to contribute; after all, he is the best arm they have on the roster. Fortunately, the pitchers he left behind haven’t been the team’s Achilles heel, giving him plenty of time to recover in relative peace since Dr. ElAttrache granted the go-ahead.
That was March 14, when the Good Doctor recommended rest and rehab over Tommy John surgery. Between Opening Day (when he was placed on the 60-Day Injured List) and early May (when “catch” proceeded to “mound work”), fans heard little from Cole other for some exuberant dugout grunting. That was fine; no news was actually good news, and comprehensive updates (if any) were likely to cause confusion and unneeded impatience.
Though Cole is theoretically eligible to return 60 days after March 28, that has always seemed outrageously ambitious, a sentiment supported by his recent short bullpens. On May 4, Cole threw 15 pitches at 89 mph. On May 7, he threw 20 pitches, relying mostly on the fastball and likely hitting comparable velocity numbers.
Once he starts experimenting with all of his pitches, he’ll need three or four weeks, about equivalent to a standard spring training, before considering returning to the Yankees. That would (apparently) make late June or early July the best-case scenario — a perfectly reasonable reality that most fans surely don’t want to consider.
Yankee ace Gerrit Cole is making solid, but modest, progress in his return from elbow injury.
When questioned about Cole’s improvement on Tuesday, Aaron Boone was frank — not as blunt as he was about Gleyber Torres’ blunder, but nonetheless. No facts were disguised. Nothing was danced around.
It’ll be a while. And it should take a long. Nestor Cortes Jr. has the highest ERA in the rotation after this weekend’s games. “They don’t need Cole” is a complete lie, but they’re doing well enough without him that they have plenty of motive to ensure his ramp-up is as gradual as possible.
Right now, the performance of Cole’s rotation mates has given the Yankees even more room to be methodical than they would have anticipated.
There’s no need for the Yankees to be cautious here. When Cole is ready, he will return. The Yankees’ investment in both the player and the person means they cannot afford to expedite any stage of this process.
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