Gerrit Cole reached a significant milestone in his rehabilitation on Tuesday, throwing 50 pitches from 120 feet. Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated that the veteran pitcher could progress to bullpen sessions sometime next week.
Cole has been sidelined since early March with nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow. He has taken a day-to-day approach to his rehab, throwing on Monday and Tuesday, with another session scheduled for Thursday if he continues to feel good.
Boone praised Cole’s progress, noting that the pitcher had been “pretty aggressive” in his throwing but did not necessarily expect him to immediately take to the mound. The manager emphasized that Cole had made encouraging progress and was likely to advance to bullpen sessions within the next week.
Cole expressed uncertainty about where he would be in his rehab if it were the offseason, but he emphasized his focus on taking things day by day. He acknowledged that he was still trying to establish a comparable timeline for his recovery.
The initial expectation was that Cole would need the full six-week equivalent of spring training before rejoining the Yankees. However, the timeline may vary depending on the number of bullpen sessions he accumulates before officially returning to the rotation.
In other news, infield prospect Jorbit Vivas has been activated off the injured list at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Vivas suffered a left orbital fracture on the final day of spring training and made his first appearance on Tuesday.
