SAN FRANCISCO — Gerrit Cole is ready to advance to game action — albeit minor league ones.
Cole will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with Double-A Somerset, manager Aaron Boone said Sunday, getting the reigning AL Cy Young winner one step closer to returning to the Yankees potentially by the end of June.
Boone said Cole will pitch in “at least a couple” rehab games, though it would not be surprising to see the Yankees err on the side of caution in using a good chunk of the 30-day rehab clock to make sure their ace is properly built up before he returns to the big leagues.
”We haven’t determined that yet,” Boone said. “It just depends. Do we want to bring him in a situation where he’s at, whatever, 60, 65, 70 pitches? Do we want him to have one more? We’ll have a better feel for that, certainly Gerrit will have a better feel for that as he now goes and starts pitching in games. Do we want one more at a certain level or do we want to build you here? We haven’t decided that yet. And we’ll continue to work towards that.”
Shut down in March with nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow, Cole began playing catch on April 8, advanced to bullpen sessions on May 4 and then faced hitters for the first time on May 21. He threw 43 pitches in a simulated game at the Yankees’ player development complex on Thursday and recovered well from it again, then threw a bullpen session on Sunday, clearing him to start a rehab assignment.
Boone said he did not know how many pitches Cole might throw Tuesday, but it is expected to be around 50. Pitchers typically build in increments of roughly 10-15 pitches each start.
The Yankees have treated each step of Cole’s road back carefully, and that will not be expedited now that Clarke Schmidt has gone down with a lat strain that could keep him out until at least August.
Cody Poteet started Saturday night against the Giants in Schmidt’s spot in the rotation, which he will likely keep until Cole is ready to return.
The Yankees rotation has thrived without Cole to start the year, but it has still anxiously awaited his return. Cole still has a few more hurdles to clear, but him pitching for the Yankees this season will begin to feel more real when he begins the rehab assignment on Tuesday.
”I don’t know that it’s never not felt real, but also I try not to get ahead of myself with it,” Boone said. “It’s like, let’s keep checking boxes, keep moving the needle. Ever since him getting shut down, I feel like it’s moved in a good direction the whole way. So it’s just about continuing to move towards that point. It’s never not been real, but at the same time, we’re still not there.”
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