Injuries & Moves: Cole feels 'really good' after 3rd rehab start
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June 15: RHP Gerrit Cole (right elbow discomfort) feeling good after third rehab start
Cole racked up 10 strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings in his rehab start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Rochester on Friday. He allowed one run (unearned) on two hits with no walks, throwing 46 of his 70 pitches for strikes. Cole topped out at 97.8 mph and recorded 21 whiffs.
Asked before the outing if it would be Cole’s final Minor League rehab start, manager Aaron Boone said: “We’ll see.” If Cole’s next outing comes in the Majors, it would either be against the Orioles or Braves.
“I feel really good today, and I felt really good last night,” Cole said on June 15. “The gamesmanship was good last night. We were picking good pitches and moving the ball around, meeting the demands of the game yesterday. We’ll get some objective feedback from the computer and see where the pitches were located, the velocity and whatnot. My eyes said it was pretty good, so I’m assuming it’s going to be pretty good.”
10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Nick Burdi (right hip inflammation)
Expected return: TBD
Burdi received a PRP injection recently, manager Aaron Boone said on June 1. He is experiencing a flare-up of an issue that prompted an injured list assignment earlier in the season. (Last updated: June 1)
RHP Clarke Schmidt (right lat strain)
Expected return: Possibly August
Schmidt underwent an MRI on May 29 after reporting difficulty bouncing back from a May 26 start at San Diego. He was seen by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on May 30. Manager Aaron Boone said that Schmidt will not throw for four to six weeks. He would then need to rebuild stamina, a process that would take several weeks from that point.
Schmidt expressed hope that he may be able to resume throwing in as few as three weeks, calling it “a soft timeline.”
"It definitely came out of nowhere. My body's been feeling amazing so far this year," Schmidt said. "I definitely felt it early in the bullpen, but things pop up as a pitcher and as a player. You have small things that pop up throughout the season. Throughout the game, it was definitely there. But for me, it was one of those things where I felt like it was probably going to work itself out."
Schmidt was placed on the 15-day injured list prior to the club’s May 30 game, retroactive to May 27. (Last updated: May 31)
60-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Gerrit Cole (right elbow discomfort)
Expected return: Possibly mid-June
Cole looked sharp in his third Minor League rehab start on June 14, striking out 10 over 4 1/3 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Rochester, allowing one run (unearned) on two hits with no walks. He topped out at 97.8 mph.
“I certainly felt like I had a pretty good shot last night,” Cole said on June 15. “You just never really know until you know. We’re trying to be prepared as you can. There’s a confidence aspect and a competitive aspect that is going to answer that question.”
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, Cole underwent an MRI on March 11 after relaying difficulty bouncing back between his spring outings, likening his level of fatigue to what he usually would feel after throwing 100 pitches during the regular season. He had more testing performed on March 12, then visited Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on March 14. ElAttrache confirmed that there was no damage to Cole’s ulnar collateral ligament. (Last updated: June 15)
OF Everson Pereira (right UCL tear; No. 5 on the Yankees' Top Prospects list)
Expected return: 2025
Pereira underwent reconstructive Tommy John surgery with an internal brace in early June, manager Aaron Boone said on June 14. Pereira had been playing through the injury at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, last appearing for the RailRiders on May 14. Boone said Pereira’s injury was “unfortunate,” but that similar to Jasson Domínguez, it is one the organization expects him to bounce back from. “This isn’t something that’s going to hurt his career too much," Boone said. "He should come back full strength from this.” (Last updated: June 15)
INF Jon Berti (left calf strain)
Expected return: Possibly late July
Berti, who was transferred to the 60-day IL on June 12, was told to expect a recovery time of approximately six to eight weeks after he was injured on May 24 as he ran toward first base. He was placed on the 10-day IL the following day and underwent a PRP injection on May 28.
On June 12, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Berti had been walking better by the time the Yankees left for Kansas City on June 9. It will still be a couple of weeks before Berti is able to ramp up baseball activities, but he is moving in the right direction.
"He was walking down the hall, and I'm like, 'Oh, he almost looked like a normal person again,'" Boone said. "That's been good to see. ... It's going to be a little bit of a process here, but hopefully he continues to make progress." (Last updated: June 12)
RHP Scott Effross (Tommy John surgery, back surgery)
Expected return: Summer 2024
Manager Aaron Boone said on June 11 that Effross threw a live session that day, and that he heard it "went really well." Boone said Effross is getting closer to starting a Minor League rehab assignment, but he did not have an exact date. On June 4, Boone said that Effross had thrown two live batting practice sessions within the past week, which came three days after Boone said Effross had “built some real momentum over the last four to six weeks,” noting that Effross seemed to be recovering well from his bullpen sessions at the club’s complex in Tampa, Fla.
Effross is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in October 2022, though he began experiencing back discomfort in autumn 2023, which prompted a microdiscectomy of his L-4 and L-5 vertebrae in December. (Last updated: June 11)
RHP JT Brubaker (recovery from Tommy John surgery)
Expected return: July
Brubaker, who was acquired from the Pirates on March 29, is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed on April 12, 2023. He has been targeting the All-Star break for a big league return.
On June 11, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Brubaker was "getting ready to go out on an assignment." Brubaker faced DJ LeMahieu in live batting practice on May 11 at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa, Fla., and on May 22 Boone said that “everything‘s going well with his live BPs and getting ramped up, so he could be in the mix here before long.” (Last updated: June 11)
RHP Lou Trivino (recovery from Tommy John surgery)
Expected return: Summer 2024
Trivino experienced right elbow inflammation in late April. He has not resumed throwing as of June 1.
Trivino was seen by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, as well as team doctors, who performed imaging and confirmed no damage to the pitcher’s ulnar collateral ligament. Trivino is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed on May 3, 2023. (Last updated: June 1)
RHP Chase Hampton (sprained right ulnar collateral ligament; No. 3 on the Yankees Top 30 Prospect list)
Expected return: TBD
Hampton has yet to pitch this season after sustaining a right UCL strain during Spring Training. Hampton received a platelet-rich plasma injection on or around March 15, at which time he was shut down from throwing for four to six weeks. Hampton was reassigned to Minor League camp on March 3. (Last updated: May 18)
RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (right UCL tear)
Expected return: 2025
Loáisiga said on April 6 that he has a torn UCL and needs season-ending surgery. Dr. Keith Meister will perform the procedure, which Loáisiga said has an estimated recovery time of 10 to 12 months. Loáisiga was placed on the 60-day injured list on April 5, retroactive to April 4. (Last updated: April 6)