As the New York Yankees face the 2025 season without their star on the mound, Gerrit Cole is focused on overcoming the milestones of his recovery following elbow reconstruction surgery performed last month.
Two and a half weeks ago, Cole achieved a significant milestone: the removal of the splint that protected his right elbow. The next key milestone will arrive in August, when he plans to throw a ball again, starting a program that he hopes will extend until the 2026 season without setbacks.
Everything starts very dark. Then you get closer to the end of the tunnel.
Gerrit Cole
The plan is for Cole to return to pitching in Major League games 14 months after the intervention. This planning places his return in mid-May of next year. However, Cole insists that he does not have a return date marked on the calendar.
I’ve only thought about 2026 to try to execute the first eight weeks of this rehabilitation. You’re growing bone and things like that, so it’s been important to sleep well, eat well, and progress in rehabilitation.
Gerrit Cole
Cole’s elbow reconstruction surgery included the insertion of an internal brace, a measure designed to strengthen the elbow and reduce the likelihood of re-injury to the ligament during the first year of return. This procedure, which has gained popularity in recent years, is different from Tommy John surgery, which for decades was the only option for repairing a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the surgery in Los Angeles. He also operated on Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, Cole’s teammates, providing Cole with internal resources during his rehabilitation process.
They know the protocol very well. It has been very nice to receive the support. It has been significant and very helpful from the guys in this room and from other people who have also pitched.
Gerrit Cole
Cole explained that his elbow injury was not the result of a single pitch, but rather described it as a chronic problem after years of pitching and nearly 2,100 innings in the Major Leagues between the regular season and the postseason. He realized something was wrong when he had trouble bending his elbow the day after throwing 54 pitches in a Grapefruit League outing.
The injury arose almost a year after Cole was sidelined by inflammation and edema in his right elbow, which delayed his season debut until June. Cole, after winning his first Cy Young award, was brilliant at times and pitched until October, making 22 starts between the regular season and the postseason. However, he acknowledged that the injury, his first major elbow problem after 11 seasons in the Major Leagues without any, could have been a precursor to the need for UCL reconstruction.
I defied the odds for so long and the anatomy of the elbow had looked the way it looked, so it was like, ‘Well, it still works. So, who can say it can’t?’ But it caught up to me. But I feel good about getting everything we could out of it up to this point.
Gerrit Cole
Cole has been attending Yankee Stadium six days a week since the start of the season for rehab sessions lasting between 90 minutes and two hours. He has stayed for the games, but preferred to remain in the clubhouse and out of the way as a precaution in the early stages. Now, after reaching the eight-week milestone, one he described as significant, he anticipates being closer to the team, offering advice.
As we move through this phase, I can participate and feel like I contribute a little bit more. It’s probably good for my mental state, for my heart.
Gerrit Cole
Cole played a similar role, acting as an additional pitching coach, early last season. But he knew he would eventually contribute from the mound again. This time is different, as the Yankees move forward with a makeshift rotation that also lacked Clarke Schmidt at the start of the season and remains without Luis Gil (lat) and Marcus Stroman (knee).
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he recently spoke with Cole about the possibility of taking on a more visible role in game preparation and in-game assistance.
Now that the splint has been removed and the initial period in which it is cumbersome has passed, it’s difficult, you’re processing everything, I want to encourage him to start being Gerrit, to be close and to do his thing and to offer what he does. We’ve had that conversation, and I think he’s now looking forward to adding that.
Aaron Boone
Eventually, towards the end of the season, Cole will travel with the club. For now, he spends more time at home. He takes his children to school and picks them up. He attends Little League baseball and soccer games. It’s family time that he hadn’t anticipated during the baseball season, until he retired. It has lifted his spirits.
But he still misses competing. So much so that, every night, before falling asleep, he says he imagines himself throwing in his mind, reproducing sequences and scenarios. He’s doing well.
I haven’t allowed any hits recently.
Gerrit Cole
