Reigning American League Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole hasn’t thrown a pitch yet this season, but according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News, the Yankees ace is making progress towards his season debut.
Cole entered the season on the 60-day injured list after having elbow soreness in spring training. He returned to throwing on April 9 and threw 75-feet while playing catch on Tuesday, according to Brian Hoch.
Given the rash of season-ending injuries to high-profile starting pitchers early this season, Yankee fans should simply be grateful Cole’s rehab is progressing without hiccups. But after dropping a series for the first time this season in Toronto, it is evident New York misses Cole’s presence in the rotation.
Luis Gil and Carlos Rodon teamed for nine innings, six earned runs and an unsettling eleven walks in the series against the Blue Jays. As a rotation, Yankees starters are tied with the Miami Marlins for the third-most walks surrendered in 2024 (45) despite ranking eleventh in innings pitched.
The Yankees bullpen has picked up some of the slack, compiling a 2.50 ERA in 61 1/3 innings. But it is flirting with fire, allowing lots of contact and struggling to strike out hitters. With the departure of reliever Jonathan Loaisiga, manager Aaron Boone has counted on pitchers like Luke Weaver, Caleb Ferguson and Dennis Santana to over perform.
The return of Cole should help alleviate both of these difficulties.
Cole is a strike thrower, with a 5.8 percent walk rate that was good for the 87th percentile in 2023 according to Baseball Savant. He also frequently helped rest the bullpen on days he pitched, averaging 6 1/3 innings per start and delivering two complete-game shutouts.
But general manager Brian Cashman should still aim to sign up another starting pitcher at some point this season, even with Cole on the mend.
Yankee starters have gone more than five innings just five times this season, with two of those games coming from Marcus Stroman and another from Cody Poteet in a spot-start. While starting pitchers don’t frequently pitch long into games nowadays, New York just doesn’t have a good enough bullpen to lean on four of every five games after Cole gets back.
If the Yankees are going to genuinely contend for the World Series, the beginning pitching must improve.
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