One more rehab outing could be separating ace Gerrit Cole from rejoining the Yankees.
The team announced that the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner will start for Triple-A Scranton up in Rochester on Friday as he finishes the final portion of his recovery from an elbow injury that has kept him out the entire 2024 season.
Cole threw 57 pitches on Sunday for Double-A Somerset — his second rehab outing with the Patriots — allowing just one run on two hits with four strikeouts across 4.2 innings of work. The workload is expected to be stretched out a bit further in Triple-A before potentially rejoining the Yankees’ starting rotation.
His return will not come a moment too soon for a stable of starting pitchers that have performed admirably in his absence this season.
Luis Gil remains one of the elite pitchers in the American League this season with an 8-1 record and a 2.04 ERA across 13 starts. Marcus Stroman, who was signed during the latter portions of spring training, has been invaluable as well with a 2.82 ERA across 14 starts.
New York has witnessed a remarkable bounce-back from Carlos Rodon, who shook off injury issues and debilitating inconsistencies in his debut season in the Bronx last year to start 2024 with a 9-2 record featuring seven straight wins and a 2.93 ERA.
Clarke Schmidt, who slotted into the vacancy left by Cole, was 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA before he landed on the injured list with a lat strain. Cody Poteet was brilliant in his cameo as the Yankees’ No. 5 starter, going 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA.
Cole’s return would round out what could be the most complete starting rotation in baseball where he will look to build on a 2023 season in which he went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA.
