The New York Yankees currently do not have a starting pitcher slated for Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. That might mean Gerrit Cole makes his season debut to face the first-place Rays.
That turn in the rotation would have given Elmer Rodríguez the starting nod. However, the Yankees sent Rodríguez down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday. With that opening created, the Yankees are considering activating Cole on Friday, rather than scheduling him for a final rehab start.
Cole’s performance in his last rehab start is certainly a factor. He hit 99.6 mph on the radar gun and averaged 97 mph with his fastball in Saturday’s Triple-A appearance. The right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings and threw 86 pitches, 56 for strikes.
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Aaron Boone was asked about the Yankees deciding if Gerrit Cole’s next start will be with the Yankees or another rehab start with Scranton
“A need doesn’t necessarily mean we’re bringing him back”
Boone also Cole’s next start being with the Yankees is “on the table” pic.twitter.com/JZwzFWXtnb
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 18, 2026
“I’d say it’s on the table, yeah,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged when asked if Cole could pitch against the Rays.
“Just wanting to do the right thing, what’s the right timing,” Boone added to explain the decision-making process. “Whatever we do, it’s with the long game in mind. A need doesn’t necessarily mean we’re bringing him back.”
In six rehab starts, Cole has 28 strikeouts and three walks in 29 innings while compiling a 5.28 ERA. His rehab assignment began on April 17.
“It’s just a really long rehab,” Cole told the Associated Press before Saturday’s start. “If you include the offseason from the year prior, it’s been about 17 months since I last performed at the big leagues., so no matter how you slice it, that’s a long time.”
Cole, 35, has been working his way back from Tommy John surgery performed last spring. He missed the entire 2025 MLB season as a result. During spring training this year, his fastball topped out at 98 mph in his two appearances.
When Cole makes his season debut, it will be the first time he’s pitched for the Yankees since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. In that start, he allowed five unearned runs (due to errors by Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe) on four hits with six strikeouts and four walks.
The Yankees (28-19) went into Monday’s matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays three games behind the Rays (30-15) for the AL East lead. However, they have lost nine of their past 11 games while Tampa Bay has gone 12-3 thus far through May.