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22 articles
NYY •
1 day ago
Cole struck out three and didn’t walk anybody while throwing 45 of his 60 pitches for strikes. He did allow two home runs, which means he’s allowed four home runs in his three rehab starts, but the Yankees care far more about the health of his arm and his pitch count. Cole should push over 70 pitches in his next outing.
NYY •
3 days ago
Cole built up his pitch count to 52 in his previous rehab outing for High-A Hudson Valley last Thursday as he continues to progress towards a mid-to-late May return to New York’s rotation. There won’t be any public Statcast data from this next rehab outing, but there should be some reporting on his velocity and how he sustains it deeper into the contest.
Source: Erik Boland
NYY •
7 days ago
Cole threw 42 of his 52 pitches for strikes, which is great to see. He also struck out four and didn’t want a batter. There is no Statcast data in the ballpark, but reports are that he sat around 94-95 mph on his fastball throughout the outing. He also threw all of his pitches, so this was a positive step in his return from elbow surgery.
NYY •
10 days ago
Cole looked extremely sharp in his rehab debut last Friday, throwing 44 pitches over 4 1/3 innings for Double-A Somerset. It’s notable that he’ll make his second rehab outing in another lower minors ballpark without any public Statcast data. The 35-year-old’s velocity was fine in spring training, but all reports are that it was down slightly in the longer outing. It’s a variable to monitor as he continues to make his way towards rejoining New York’s rotation sometime next month.
Source: Gary Phillips
NYY •
13 days ago
Cole, who is returning from elbow surgery, struck out three in the 44-pitch outing. All of the runs came on a homer from Aroon Escobar in the second. There’s no Statcast in Double-A games, but it sounds like Cole’s velocity was down slightly from his shorter spring starts, though he was OK with that. “I didn’t feel like I needed to add any more today,” Cole said. “And it was kind of a nice working pace, and the offspeed was thrown with the same intensity. I was pleased with the changeup today. The curveball was very sharp. I didn’t make any mistakes with that pitch. The slider was good, I hung the one slider that was the double. The fastball was good overall.” The Yankees haven’t announced they date or location of Cole’s second rehab start.
Source: MLB.com
NYY •
15 days ago
It’s happening. Cole looked sharp in a handful of abbreviated spring training outings and will make his first rehab start later this week in the upper minors, according to Yankees manager Aaron Boone. The 35-year-old former fantasy ace is working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery and figures to be ready to make his season debut at some point in mid-to-late May.
Source: Jorge Castillo
NYY •
16 days ago
Cole’s next step will either be another live batting practice session or starting his minor league rehab assignment. The 35-year-old former fantasy ace remains on track to return to New York’s rotation for his season debut at some point in late May.
Source: Gary Phillips
NYY •
23 days ago
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Cole completed another throwing session on Monday without any issues and will face hitters again later this week. The 35-year-old former fantasy ace is creeping closer towards kicking off a minor league rehab assignment and remains on track to rejoin New York’s rotation at some point in late May.
Source: Gary Phillips
NYY •
about 1 month ago
Cole looked extremely sharp in a handful of abbreviated late-spring starts and will continue ramping up his throwing program in the coming weeks. The 35-year-old former fantasy ace figures to be cleared for a minor league rehab assignment at some point in April and seems to be on track to make his season debut by the end of May.
Source: Brendan Kuty
NYY •
about 1 month ago
This is another procedural move from the Yankees before Opening Day, though it’s obviously a good sign he’s on the 15-day IL as opposed to the 60-day IL. Cole looked good in his last start, and is still on track to return to the Yankees rotation by May.
NYY •
about 1 month ago
This is another procedural move from the Yankees before opening day. Cole looked good in his last start, and is still on track to return to the Yankees rotation by late May.
NYY •
about 1 month ago
It was extremely encouraging to see Cole wrap up spring training by averaging a sizzling 96.3 mph on his fastball, especially since it was a 91-degree afternoon in the Arizona desert. A solo homer by Alex Bregman accounted for all of the damage against him. The 35-year-old veteran fantasy ace will continue building up his pitch count and stamina on a minor league rehab assignment before making his return from Tommy John surgery at some point in late April or early May. He appears to have been undervalued in early-spring drafts based on how his stuff has looked in game action recently.
NYY •
about 1 month ago
Cole topped out at 98.7 mph and averaged 97.1 mph with his four fastballs, which is 1.2 mph better than when he was last seen in 2024. His average fastball velocity peaked at 97.8 mph in 2022. His two curves and two sliders were up about 1.5 mph from 2024. So, it doesn’t look like arm strength is going to be an issue here. The Yankees have maintained that they see Cole returning in late May or June, but it’s not going to be easy holding him back for that long. He’s being underdrafted in fantasy leagues right now.
NYY •
about 2 months ago
This is a great sign for Cole’s chances of coming back sooner rather than later, but the Yankees will likely be cautious with him and he will need to build up to be ready to pitch in the majors. Still, a late April or early May return sounds like what this is trending towards barring a setback.
Source: Jack Curry
NYY •
about 2 months ago
The right-hander mixed in breaking balls during this session and his fastball topped out at 97.5 mph. He continues to make progress in his recovery, and the likelihood continues to increase that we see him back on a big league mound before the end of May. The better that he looks throughout the spring, the higher his draft cost is going to get.
Source: Greg Joyce
NYY •
2 months ago
It’s another important step for Cole as he continues in his recovery. The 35-year-old hurler is slated to work one inning in a simulated game. He actually sounds like he’s a bit ahead of schedule in his recovery and there has been talk that Cole could get into Grapefruit League games before spring training is through. As long as he avoids any setbacks, he could be ready to rejoin the Yankees’ rotation before the end of May.
Source: Bryan Hoch
NYY •
3 months ago
He added that Cole could graduate to game action by the end of spring training. The word over the offseason was that Cole was likely to be out until late May or early June, and this update seems to jive well with that timetable. Cole figures to rejoin the Yankees at midseason as long as his rehab and ramp-up go well.
Source: Gary Phillips
NYY •
5 months ago
The last we heard, the team expected Cole to be facing hitters in spring training but be delayed to start the year. Now it seems like the veteran right-hander will miss the first two months of the year. Given what we have seen from pitchers coming back off of a full year lost to Tommy John surgery, Cole shouldn’t be drafted in redraft leagues before a later-round flyer.
Source: Bryan Hoch
NYY •
5 months ago
The previous update from the club put Cole on track to face hitters in spring training but be delayed to start next season. Now, it seems like the veteran right-hander will miss at least the first two months of the year. Given what we have seen from pitchers coming back off of a full year lost to Tommy John surgery, Cole shouldn’t be drafted in re-draft leagues before a later-round flyer. He’s likely to be scooped up earlier than that in most drafts based on name recognition alone.
Source: Bryan Hoch
NYY •
6 months ago
Cole is not expected to be ready for Opening Day as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters he should progress to facing hitters during spring training. He’s expected to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache this offseason to determine the next steps as he ramps up his throwing program. The 35-year-old former fantasy ace should make it back to New York at some point during the early stages of next season, which makes him an interesting mid-round target for fantasy purposes.
Source: Gary Phillips
NYY •
7 months ago
Cole had his Tommy John surgery on March 13, so an April return next year would be awfully aggressive. Still, Cole is 35 and probably particularly motivated to make it back, and he’s also apparently felt good since he resumed throwing in August. He might be undervalued in early drafts.
Source: Chris Kirschner
NYY •
9 months ago
Cole threw 20 pitches on flat ground, which marked the official beginning of his throwing program following Tommy John surgery in March. There is still a long way to go in his rehab process, but it’s nice to see Cole meeting the first benchmark. He’s expected to return early in the summer of 2026.
Source: Meredith Marakovits