Gerrit Cole, once again in the spotlight, embodies the potential return of a Cy Young-caliber arm for the Yankees. At 35, with a few new facial hairs and a refined windup, plus a surgically rebuilt UCL, he still carries the same name that once dominated the mound. On Friday morning at Steinbrenner Field, he stepped onto the bullpen mound for two short, hitters-less simulated innings and, by all appearances, resembled the pitcher who defined a season of dominance.
There’s a long road ahead—best-case scenarios suggest about three months, with additional hurdles to clear—before he might appear in a big-league game at any level. Still, more than 11 months removed from Tommy John surgery and nearly a year after the Yankees’ 2025 season was erased by injury, the former AL Cy Young winner offered a tantalizing glimpse of what could lie ahead for New York.
“he looked like a Cy Young pitcher,” catcher Austin Wells observed. “He moved with ease and command. He looked confident in what he can do.”
Of course, this was merely a February bullpen session, a checkpoint on the path toward facing hitters in a couple of weeks and perhaps slipping into a Grapefruit League contest before camp wraps up.
Cole has consistently framed the target return window as 14-18 months, a goal he has discussed with the Yankees and Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the surgeon who repaired his elbow. With surgery on March 11 last year, a 14-month timetable would land around May 11.
What form Cole returns with remains an open question. Some pitchers regain their peak speed and feel within a full season; others rebound more quickly. Cole isn’t predicting precise numbers or milestones for 2026, choosing instead to focus on day-to-day progress and staying within rehab targets. The line so far has been encouraging, reinforcing hope that progress is marching toward a hopeful endgame.
In Friday’s session, Cole’s fastball sat in the 94-96 mph range, and Wells’s mitt rang out with every pitch as a chorus of onlookers from Yankees personnel watched closely. He emphasized the importance of monitoring velocity within prescribed ranges to “load the new elbow tissue strategically.”
From the club’s perspective, patience remains the priority. No matter how welcome each incremental step is, they won’t rush the process. The aim is to restore him to full strength and availability later in the season, when stakes are higher, rather than to debut him early and risk setbacks.
“We want to give him the proper time to ensure he’s fully ready, built up responsibly,” manager Aaron Boone explained. “We won’t rush this, even if the signs keep looking positive.”
Meanwhile, Cole himself sounded cautiously optimistic about how he’s feeling. His pre-surgery workload yielded more than 2,000 big-league innings; the rebuilt elbow, he says, feels “different than it’s been in quite some time.” Whether that translates to more velocity upon his return remains to be seen, though he teased the possibility with a hopeful smile: “We’ll see.”
More than anything, he yearns for normalcy—the day he can rejoin a rotation with high expectations and contribute as a central figure on a staff that could be formidable if healthy.
“I just miss playing,” Cole admitted. “I miss that outlet of grinding hard and feeling spent every five days.”
And the journey continues, with fans—and the Yankees—watching closely for the moment when Cole can reinsert himself into the rhythm of the season.
