Yankees ace Gerrit Cole took a significant step in his rehab Saturday, throwing off of a mound for the first time since being shut down during spring training with elbow inflammation.
Cole threw 15 pitches, all fastballs, in the Yankee Stadium bullpen and sat at around 89 mph, he said. He threw 13 of the pitches for strikes.
“It was exciting,” Cole said afterward. “This is a good day for me. I was fired up.”
Cole, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, took the field just before 10:30 a.m. and played catch on flat ground for about 10 minutes before moving into the bullpen.
Saturday’s development came just under a month after the 33-year-old right-hander resumed playing catch.
“It’s a progression [to throw] off a mound, but I’ve got to see how the next 48 hours go before I decide when I’m gonna get off the mound again,” Cole said.
Cole acknowledged there’s still work to be done, estimating that on a scale of one to 10 in terms of game-readiness, he’s somewhere between a one and a five.
Here’s Gerrit Cole headed toward the #Yankees bullpen to throw from the mound in the next step in his rehab pic.twitter.com/Fmt7IPbno9
— Peter Sblendorio (@petersblendorio) May 4, 2024
Currently on the 60-day injured list, Cole is eligible to be activated as soon as May 27, but the Yankees have not put a timeline on his return.
“We certainly know what Gerrit brings to the table, hopefully at some point this summer,” manager Aaron Boone said Saturday. “Right now, it’s about Gerrit doing what he needs to do to get right and get back and get healthy.”
Cole made one start in spring training, throwing 39 pitches on March 1, and also threw 47 pitches in a March 7 simulated game. He reported having trouble bouncing back between outings, prompting a battery of tests and a visit with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
The six-time All-Star was ultimately diagnosed in mid-March with inflammation and edema in his right elbow. He began playing catch again on April 8.
Cole joked Saturday that he coordinated with the Yankees’ public relations staff to make his return to the bullpen mound on the same day the team handed out his bobblehead at Yankee Stadium. The giveaway toy for “Star Wars” day depicted Cole in a Jedi robe.
“I was fired up this morning when I came in,” Cole said. “I’ve just been missing it.”
Cole is in the fifth season of a nine-year, $324 million contract that made him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history when he signed it. Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers has since surpassed Cole’s in terms of total value.
Cole went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP and 222 strikeouts in 209 innings last season, clinching the first Cy Young Award of his career.
Despite his absence atop the rotation, the Yankees entered Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers with a 21-13 record. The team’s cumulative ERA of 3.01 ranked second in the majors.
Each member of the Yankees’ rotation — Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes, Clark Schmidt and Luis Gil — began Saturday with an ERA of 3.86 or better.
Asked if he felt nervous before Saturday’s mound session, Cole replied, “No.”
“I was ready to go,” he said.
BERTI’S BACK
The Yankees’ infield received a speedy boost Saturday, as the club activated utility man Jon Berti to the major-league roster.
Acquired in a March 27 trade with Miami, Berti played six games with the Yankees before going on the injured list on April 11 with a left groin strain.
Berti, 34, led the majors with 41 stolen bases in 2022 and hit .294 in 388 at-bats last season. He was not in the starting lineup Saturday.
To make room on the roster, the Yankees designated outfielder Taylor Trammell for assignment. Taylor, 26, appeared in five games with the Yankees, recording one hit in as many at-bats and scoring two runs.
