The New York Yankees are one of baseball’s greatest teams this year. With a formidable Yankees lineup and rotation, New York appears to be poised for even greater strength with Gerrit Cole’s impending return.
Even without Cole, the Yankees’ rotation has been terrific this season. New York’s starting pitchers had the second-best ERA (2.78), the third-best WHIP (1.10), and the lowest opponents’ batting average (.209) after 346.2 innings pitched.
New York Yankees pitching numbers (2024): 2.78 ERA (1st in MLB), 1.12 WHIP (3rd),.210 batting average allowed (1st), and 28 quality starts (7th).
Much of the credit goes to Luis Gil (1.99 ERA, 0.95 WHIP), Nestor Cortes (3.46 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), and Marcus Stroman (2.73 ERA, 1.23 WHIP). Furthermore, Carlos Rodón (3.09 ERA, 1.13 WHIP) has been effective on the mound following an injury-plagued start to his Yankees career.
Cole, on the other hand, is a game changer when healthy and will return to his role as the Yankees rotation’s ace. Furthermore, bringing him back will help New York to reduce Gil’s workload as he is already (63.1 innings pitched) on pace to blow past his career-high in innings (96.0 in 2019) as a pitcher in the minor leagues.
When will Gerrit Cole return?
According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, Cole will make his first rehab start on Tuesday, and New York has a rough timeline for getting him ready for his MLB debut in 2024.
“Expected to throw about 50 pitches. Aaron Boone has said he’ll need at least 2 rehab starts. Then the question becomes, ok, do you want him building up to 80, 90 piches in the minor leagues or do you want him using those bulelts in the major leagues.”
Ken Rosenthal on when New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole will return, rehab starts
Rosenthal also emphasized the fortuitous timing of Cole’s impending return. After a great start to the 2024 season, Clarke Schmidt was placed on the disabled list with a right lat strain, preventing him from throwing for at least 4-6 weeks.
Given Schmidt’s absence, New York may decide to have Cole increase his pitch count as a member of the major-league rotation. If that strategy comes to fruition, Cole might be back in the Yankees’ rotation before June ends.
