Gerrit Cole's Return Date Revealed for Yankees
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 21: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees throws from the mound before a game against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on May 21, 2024 in New York City. The Mariners defeated the Yankees 6-3. Cole is making his return to the Yankees this week.
The New York Yankees are getting their ace back.
Gerrit Cole, who hasn't pitched this season due to elbow nerve inflammation, is making his return to the Yankees' rotation on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed the news on the Talkin' Yanks podcast on Monday.
Cole got hurt in spring training, and there was initial doubt about his status for the season. However, he elected to not undergo surgery, and instead patiently waited for his elbow to heal.
Cole went on his first rehab assignment two weeks ago, and has made a total of three rehab starts. In those starts, Cole was dominant, sporting a combined 0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings with 19 strikeouts. It's clear he was ready to return, and he'll now be doing just that in a huge game between American League East powerhouses.
Cole is joining a rotation that enters Monday with the best combined ERA in baseball at 2.90. The Orioles and Phillies each have a 2.99 rotation ERA.
The Yankees' rotation has been as dominant as any this season. They made history in May when they made 16 consecutive starts of at least five innings while allowing two or fewer earned runs.
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Luis Gil has been the star, as he's been a leading Cy Young candidate with a record of 9-1 and an AL-best 2.03 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 80 innings pitched. Marcus Stroman has the next-best traditional stats (6-3, 3.08 ERA in 84.2 innings). Then there's Carlos Rodón, who's gone 9-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 85 innings. And finally, there's Nestor Cortes, who has a record of 3-5 with a 3.59 ERA in 87.2 innings pitched.
Clarke Schmidt was a part of this history back in May, but he's since gone on the injured list and will be out for the foreseeable future. Before suffering a right lat strain, though, he was 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA in 60.2 innings pitched. In his place, Cody Poteet has been outstanding, going 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA in 21 innings pitched.
The Yankees will now be adding a superstar to the mix in Cole. The reigning AL Cy Young award winner is coming off a 2023 in which he went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 209 innings pitched. He led the AL in ERA, starts, innings pitched, and shutouts en route to unanimously winning the Cy Young.
In 2023, Cole had to carry the load for a struggling Yankees rotation. This year, though, he'll just be another piece in a seemingly unstoppable unit.
The Yankees enter Tuesday's series opener against the Orioles at 50-24, 1.5 games ahead of Baltimore in a strong AL East. This series could go a long way toward determining the end-of-season standings — up to and including any possible tiebreakers — and Cole will get an opportunity to make an immediate contribution to what's been a dream season thus far in the Bronx.
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