For the first time in 569 days, Gerrit Cole was on the mound for the New York Yankees on Friday, and it was like he never left. Cole was masterful in his return from Tommy John surgery, holding the AL-best Tampa Bay Rays scoreless across six innings. He allowed two singles and three walks, struck out a pair, and threw an economical 72 pitches in New York's eventual 4-2 loss.
"It was almost like a second debut," Cole said about his first start back from Tommy John surgery. "It was an enjoyable moment and it was nice to get back in the fire."
Cole got into trouble right away Friday, allowing a single to Chandler Simpson and a walk to Junior Caminero to begin the game. A fly out, a pickoff, and a strikeout later, the first inning was over. That started a stretch in which Cole retired 12 of 13 batters, including a seven-pitch third inning and a four-pitch fourth inning.
A 4-pitch 4th inning for Gerrit Cole 😮 pic.twitter.com/u89gamUUD0
— MLB (@MLB) May 23, 2026
"Really efficient. Thought he was really good. They were being very aggressive with him, but I thought he did a good job," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "... Really exciting to get. him back and have him go out there. I'm sure he was carrying a lot of emotions with him out there.
Under the hood, Cole's stuff was plenty lively. His fastball averaged 96.1 mph, almost exactly his pre-surgery average in 2024, and he topped out at 98.6 mph. It was Cole's fastest pitch in a regular-season game since August 2024. Control is usually the last thing to return following elbow reconstruction but Cole was sharp. He consistently dotted the knees with his sinker.
Gerrit Cole allowed just 3 hard-hit (95+ mph exit velo) batted balls out of 17 total batted balls. That 17.6% hard-hit rate allowed is tied for his 5th-lowest in any start of his Yankee career, and lowest since June 14, 2022 vs Rays (6.7%).
— Katie Sharp (@SharpStats17) May 23, 2026
Although he got up to 86 pitches in his final Triple-A rehab start, the Yankees kept Cole on a tight leash in his first MLB start, and pulled him after six innings and 72 pitches. The Yankees didn't want to push him too much, too soon following a grueling 14-month rehab. Figure Cole will get up to 80 pitches in his next start, then 90, then a full 100.
"I felt like that was the smart play," Cole said about exiting after 72 pitches. "It may seem easy, but it was a high-pressure, tough game. Had one quick inning and we made some great defensive plays that led to some of that efficiency as well. Overall, it was good work for what we had out there."
New York's starting pitchers entered Friday with the fifth-best ERA (3.22) and the best WAR (6.6) in baseball, even without Cole throwing a pitch this season. This is the club's rotation depth chart at the moment:
- RHP Gerrit Cole
- LHP Max Fried (out with an elbow bone bruise)
- RHP Cam Schlittler
- LHP Carlos Rodón
- RHP Will Warren
- LHP Ryan Weathers
- RHP Luis Gil (on Triple-A injured list with shoulder inflammation)
- RHP Elmer Rodríguez
Cole essentially steps into Fried's rotation spot. The two have not yet been healthy at the same time with the Yankees. They hope that will happen in a few weeks when Fried returns. Rodón returned from his own elbow surgery (bone spurs) earlier this month. This is the healthiest New York's big league rotation has been since about the middle of 2024.
Friday was Cole's first MLB game since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. His elbow gave out last spring training and he underwent Tommy John surgery soon thereafter. Last weekend, Boone said the Yankees would have Cole make one more minor-league rehab start, but they changed plans and brought him back Friday instead.
Alas and alack, New York's bullpen blew a slim 1-0 lead and allowed four runs in the eighth, spoling Cole's return. The Yankees dropped to 0-4 against the Rays this season.
In 2024, his last season before Tommy John surgery, Cole pitched to a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts after dealing with a nerve issue in his elbow that spring training.
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