Gerrit Cole: Everything you need to know

Cole (elbow) will make his next rehab start with Double-A Somerset Sunday, Casey Drottar of MLB.com reports. It will be Cole's fifth minor-league start since embarking on his rehab assignment in mid-April. He tossed 69 pitches in his last outing Tuesday with High-A Hudson, but the veteran right-hander appears to need more reps while continuing to recover from Tommy John surgery from March of 2025. Across his four minor-league starts, Cole has a 6.27 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 14:1 K:BB across 18.2 innings, though he's yielded six home runs in that span. Yankees manager Aaron Boone relayed to reporters Saturday that he expects Cole to make at least two rehab starts but potentially three, which means Cole may not be back with the big club until late May or early June.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Cole (elbow) is expected to need a "couple more" rehab starts before being activated from the 15-day injured list, David Lennon of Newsday reports. Cole made the fourth start of his rehab assignment Tuesday, covering 4.1 innings and striking out four batters while yielding five earned runs on seven hits and no walks. From a volume standpoint, Cole appears capable of handling a typical starter's workload after he tossed 69 pitches Tuesday, but the Yankees may want the right-hander to iron out his command and pick up some velocity on the farm before adding him to the big-league rotation. While Cole has pounded the strike zone well and has permitted just one walk over 18.2 innings during his minor-league assignment, he's given up six home runs and has punched out just 14 batters. With at least two more starts in the minors on tap, Cole isn't projected to make his 2026 MLB debut until some point during the final two weeks of May.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Cole (elbow), who is making a rehab start Tuesday with High-A Hudson Valley, is still a "little ways away" from making his season debut with the Yankees, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports. The right-hander's rehab outing Tuesday is the fourth of his rehab assignment as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent last March. New York's rotation has been dominant early this season, so the club may let Cole take his time building back up in the minors.