It was only 15 pitches, all fastballs, but they came off the mound, which made it a significant step for Gerrit Cole on his road back to the Yankees.
There are still many more steps to come in his rehab process, but Cole was excited about throwing his first bullpen session on Saturday since he was shut down in March with nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow.
“This is a good day for me today,” Cole said after the session in which he reported averaging 89 mph and throwing 13 of his 15 pitches for strikes. “I was fired up this morning when I came in. I’ve just been missing it, so it’s nice to be back on the mound.”
Cole’s next step, he said, would be determined based on how he recovered in the coming days.
“Obviously it’s a progression off the mound, but I got to see how the next 48 hours go before I decide when I’m going to get off the mound again,” the reigning AL Cy Young winner said.
Cole and the Yankees have repeatedly declined to put a timetable on when he might return to the rotation. The closest thing to a time frame is acknowledging that Cole would need the equivalent of spring training – around six weeks – for his buildup, though typically when pitchers arrive at camp they are further along in their throwing progression than Cole is now.
At this point, mid-June would be the earliest Cole could be ready to pitch in the big leagues, though July might be more likely, with the Yankees insisting they will not rush the $324 million right-hander.
Assuming he recovers well from Saturday, he will still need to throw multiple bullpen sessions, ramping up in pitch count, pitch type and intensity, before facing hitters in live batting practice multiple times and then going out on a rehab assignment.
Asked on Saturday where he would fall on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being game-ready, Cole guessed “somewhere under five.”
“I enjoyed today,” he said. “This is the most taste I’ve had in a while, so I definitely miss it. It’s a good step.”
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