Gerrit Cole, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Tuesday. The New York Yankees ace pitcher has been sidelined for the entire season due to right elbow inflammation that occurred during spring training. After completing three throwing sessions, including facing live hitters, he is now on track for a return to the Yankees’ rotation.
Manager Aaron Boone mentioned that the number of rehab starts Cole will pitch will depend on his performance and response in those outings. It is expected that he will have at least a couple of starts in the minors before rejoining the major league club, potentially making his return around mid-June. The Yankees currently have the best record in the American League at 41-19 and are leading the AL East by two games over the Baltimore Orioles.
The success of the team has been fueled by excellent starting pitching in Cole’s absence, with Yankees starters collectively holding a 2.73 ERA. Only the Philadelphia Phillies (2.67) have a better ERA in MLB at the moment. The rotation recently completed an MLB-record streak of 16 consecutive starts of at least five innings, allowing two runs or fewer, before it ended last Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels.
With Clarke Schmidt landing on the injured list due to a right lat strain, he is expected to be out for four to six weeks, aligning with Cole’s potential return timeline. Right-hander Cody Poteet was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Schmidt in the rotation and performed well, allowing two earned runs with six strikeouts in five innings against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.
