It’s been 371 days since the Yankees ace Gerrit Cole he had Tommy John surgery, and the wait to see him back on the mound appears to be over. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Cole will start tomorrow’s Grapefruit League game for the Yankees. He is expected to pitch one inning in his return to action.
The exact timing of Cole’s return is unclear. The 35-year-old is still a lock to open the season on the injured list. Even if tomorrow’s one inning goes without a hit, he’ll need more time to build a starter’s workload. That won’t be accomplished in the final week of spring training, but at least it’s possible that if Cole is ready to throw an inning in a game right now, he could return to the Yankees in late April.
Cole sat out 2025 after tearing his ulnar ligament last spring and undergoing Tommy John surgery on March 11. Elbow issues also limited him to 17 starts (95 innings) in 2024. He hasn’t had a full season of health since 2023 – although that has been proven; Cole threw 209 innings with a 2.63 ERA, made his sixth All-Star team and won his first Cy Young Award. There’s no telling how the elbow will react to tomorrow’s tough situation until he takes the bump, but doing so a week before the Yankees’ season opener is an encouraging development for Yankee fans.
There is also good news about another expensive starter who is injured. Carlos Rodón he had elbow surgery in October. The manager Aaron Boone he said at the opening of camp that the big lefty could be back before the end of April. That comment came almost a month ago, but it seems like Rodón is still on that same track. Boone told reporters this morning that he expects Rodón to return “sometime in April,” via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Boone didn’t commit to throwing left-handed in a game before the end of spring training but he didn’t rule it out either. He is scheduled for a live batting practice session this week.
Rodón, 33, pitched 195 1/3 innings with a 3.09 earned run average last season. He stepped up after Cole’s injury, as both his total innings and his 33 starts were career highs. Rodón’s injury history is well known, and the October surgery is the latest data point for his record, but the 2024-25 seasons marked the first time in Rodón’s career that he started 30-plus games in consecutive seasons. He’s a longshot to make consecutive three-pointers this year, but if he can come back in April and stay healthy, he won’t be too shy to start 30 games.
Anyway, good news, the Yankees will open the season with the “big three” free agent starters off the shelf. The third one, the left one Fried Maxwill get the ball on Opening Day against the Giants ace Logan Webb in San Francisco next Wednesday. You will be followed in a certain way Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Is Warren and seasonal trade acquisitions Ryan Weathers. All four members of that quartet have minor league options remaining, so their performances late in camp and early in the season will be worth watching closely. By early May, it’s possible that two of those young, under-strength arms will have been optioned to Triple-A (assuming good health for the rest of the team – never a given).
On that side of things, Boone confirmed today that he will be free Ryan McMahon playing shortstop in a regular season game (via Kirschner). The 31-year-old is expected to open the season at third but has been getting reps throughout camp. He’s one of the game’s better defenders at the hot corner, and seems to have shown enough this spring to earn Boone’s trust as a backup option.
McMahon won’t start at shortstop with any regularity, but his ability to at least handle that position in a pinch is noteworthy. Anthony Volpe will start the season on the injured list following offseason shoulder surgery, paving the way José Caballero starting at shortstop at the beginning of the year. Help that hits easily Max Schuemann is the only true shortstop option on the 40-man roster beyond McMahon, so McMahon’s ability to serve as Caballero’s backup affects the club’s bench makeup.
Backup handler JC Escarrafirst baseman Paul Goldschmidt and a seasoned striker Amed Rosario all confined to bench areas. Rosario has been a shortstop early in his career but has not played well there and pitched just two shortstop innings last year and 101 the year before.
If not McMahon, the Yankees may feel they need Schuemann or an undrafted free agent as Jonathan Ornelas, Zack Short or veteran Paul DeJong on the bench. All four had decent or better spring showings. McMahon serving as Caballero’s primary backup option gives Boone and GM Brian Cashman more flexibility when deciding at the end zone, however. That can pave the way for random downloads Randal Grichuk to make a club and act as a complement that transforms accordingly Trent Grishamwho hit .182/.303/.348 against lefties even through his 2025 exit year.
