The Yankees have received a handful of positive reports regarding their injured starting pitchers, most notably for ace Gerrit Cole. The 35-year-old missed all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery he underwent in March. Cole is scheduled to face hitters “in a couple weeks,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters, including Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Boone added that Cole could be back in time to pitch in Spring Training games.
Cole is less than a year removed from surgery, so Opening Day was never in play for him. The notion that he could appear in spring action is encouraging and could put him on track to only miss the first month of the season. The 60-day IL remains an option, but if there’s even a small chance Cole could be back within a couple of months, New York will likely avoid that route.
After winning the AL Cy Young in 2023, Cole missed the first half of 2024 with elbow inflammation. He returned for 17 starts to close the season. Elbow concerns popped back up heading into last year, and Cole ended up going under the knife. The veteran has three seasons left on the nine-year, $324MM deal he signed with the Yankees in 2019.
Carlos Rodon was seen playing catch with Cole at today’s spring session. The left-hander had loose bodies removed from his elbow shortly after the 2025 campaign ended. The expectation is that Rodon could return before the end of April. Boone told reporters the lefty is “probably not far behind from the start of the season.”
Rodon recently said he was back throwing eight weeks after his surgery, adding that his mobility is much improved following the procedure. The 33-year-old made a career-high 33 starts this past season. He earned an All-Star bid and finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting, though a rough postseason brought a sour end to his year. Rodon was knocked around for nine earned runs in his two playoff outings.
The lone negative revelation from Thursday was that right-hander Cam Schlittler was managing what was initially described as mid-back inflammation. The young righty took to social media to clarify that it’s a left lat issue. “It’s early, so I just want to make sure I’m on top of it,” Schlittler told reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
Schlittler took a July callup and ran with the opportunity, providing a sub-3.00 ERA across his first 14 big-league starts. He garnered national attention in the postseason. Schlittler delivered eight scoreless innings in a win over Boston in the ALDS. He came through with a quality start against Toronto in the ALCS, though New York lost the game (and the series).
On the hitting side, shortstop Anthony Volpe is scheduled to begin his hitting progression before the end of February. The infielder is recovering from torn labrum surgery. “He is doing well,” Boone told reporters. “Strength is all there in the weight room and stuff like that. He’s got all that back. That’s the thing that took a little while. His range of motion is tremendous.”
Volpe had surgery in early October. Early reports were that he wouldn’t be able to hit for four months. The club has said Volpe will open the season on the IL. Jose Caballero is expected to handle shortstop until Volpe is ready to return.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel and Brad Penner, Imagn Images
