New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Gerrit Cole will return to game action on Tuesday when he starts for the double-A Somerset Patriots.
Cole has been working his way back from nerve inflammation and edema that forced him to shut down in spring training and start the year on the injured list. He made one spring training start, on March 1, and the Yankees announced 10 days later the 33-year-old right-hander’s elbow was ailing. He was diagnosed with nerve inflammation and edema and told to rest.
He didn’t throw off a mound again until May 5, the first of five bullpen sessions leading up to his initial session against hitters.
He threw a 15-pitch simulated game on May 25 and was pleased with his progress to that point. He threw 43 pitches at the team’s complex in Tampa, Florida.
It's expected Cole will make multiple minor league starts before rejoining the Yankees, who lost starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt to a right lat strain last week.
Cole was unanimously named the AL Cy Young winner in 2023 after posting a 2.63 ERA over 209 innings, racking up 222 strikeouts and 15 wins.
The 33-year-old and the Patriots will take on the Hartford Yard Goats, the double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.
Pitchers have 30 days to return to the MLB roster once starting their rehab appearance, so if Cole does pitch Tuesday, the latest he could re-join the Yankees would be July 2.
-- With files from the Associated Press
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