Gerrit Cole returns to Yankees, will make long-awaited season debut
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK – “I’m ready,’’ Gerrit Cole told the Yankees.
With that, the right-handed ace will rejoin the Yanks’ rotation – 437 days since undergoing Tommy John surgery – on Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.
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“Feel like he’s crushed his rehab. He’s done everything he’s needed to do to be ready for this,’’ manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday afternoon. “We’re thrilled to get him back.’’
Cole hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, and the Yanks are “all excited for him, and know the long road that it’s been to get back to this point.’’
In the Yankees' 52nd game of the year on Friday night, Cole will slot into a rotation missing veteran lefty Max Fried, currently sidelined with a left elbow bone bruise.
Fried is hopeful of returning at full strength in 2026, and the Yankees recently activated fellow lefty Carlos Rodon following his rehab period for a bone spur, and to remove loose bodies near pitching elbow.
In his second MLB season, Yanks’ righty Cam Schlittler has emerged as one of the game’s best starters, with a 6-1 record and 1.35 ERA over his first 10 starts this year.
Check back here for more on this developing story.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Gerrit Cole returns as Yankees ace after Tommy John surgery