Cole slated to make spring debut Wednesday against Red Sox

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will see his first Grapefruit League action of the spring on Wednesday, when he’s scheduled to start against the Red Sox at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The right-hander is slated to throw one inning in his first game action since undergoing Tommy John surgery last March.

Wednesday's game will begin at 1:05 p.m. ET and will air on YES and MLB.TV.

“It’s definitely exciting,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Tuesday morning. “Obviously, I think everyone’s been excited just how good he’s looked. The fact that he’s getting into a game now just indicates where he is and how well it is going.

“I don’t want necessarily people to think we’re speeding this up or anything. That’s not the case. It’s just, he’s ready to do this, he’s been in lives, and so [it will] be good to see him out there for an inning starting a game and seeing our ace out there.”

Boone said over the past few weeks, the reality of Cole taking the mound in a Grapefruit League game came into focus. At the beginning of camp, the word “might” was thrown around when it came to Cole pitching anywhere other than a backfield.

“Over the last couple weeks, just with the continued progression, how he’s recovering and things like that, where he is as far having a few lives under his belt now, it’s started to really come in play probably in the last 10 days, two weeks, without being certain,” Boone said. “The last couple days, like, ‘Yeah, let’s go ahead and do it, assuming he continues to do what he needs to do day in and day out.’”

The Yankees have said they expect Cole to rejoin the Major League rotation in late May or early June. That aligns with the original 14-to-18-month timetable for Cole’s return.

Cole, 35, continues to check every box in his rehab as he builds back up to full strength. One of Cole’s first bullpen sessions of the spring -- in which he used a classic overhead windup -- prompted Boone to simply note that “he looked like Gerrit Cole.” Since then, Cole has touched 97.5 mph with his fastball, thrown breaking balls to hitters and most recently tossed a 35-pitch bullpen session on March 12.

“That’s what’s stood out,” Boone said of how Cole has looked in camp. “I think a lot of times, especially guys with great stuff like Gerrit, you see them come back and the command isn’t always there right away. I think what’s been impressive is just how sharp he’s been.

“One of Gerrit’s superpowers is his delivery. He’s got how you draw it up. That lends itself to command. It’s one of the things he’s always done so well. I think that’s paying dividends for him now.”

“It’s all playing out as you would hope,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in February. “There’s twists and turns to rehab. You have good days, you have bad days. But it feels like he’s had nothing but good days, which is fantastic.”

Though the Yankees have plenty of roster continuity from last year’s 94-win outfit, Cole stands out as a potential difference-maker in the always-competitive American League East. The six-time All-Star has pitched to a 3.12 ERA across parts of five seasons with the Yankees, and he won the AL Cy Young Award in 2023, when he posted a league-best 2.63 ERA and a 165 ERA+. The last time Cole took the big league mound in '24, he managed a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts. His eventual return would add another bona fide frontline starter to a Yankees rotation that figures to be one of baseball’s best.

As for how both Cole and the club have approached rehab for the ace, Boone said, “I think we’ve been, and I think he’s been, very disciplined to it. That’s one of the reasons I think the rehab process for him has gone well. He’s listened to obviously the doctors and all of the people that are involved. He’s crushed the rehab. But I don’t think we’ve rushed anything as we’ve gone, either.”

Boone confirmed the ideal situation is still for Cole to be ready to pitch late May or early June.

“June 1 has kind of been the [goal],” Boone said. “I don’t expect that to change much. But, we’ll see.”