Yankees Ace Gerrit Cole Expected to Start Playing Catch This Week

The New York Yankees received a fantastic update on ace pitcher Gerrit Cole.

According to manager Aaron Boone, the right-hander will begin playing catch this coming week, as he recovers from a sore pitching elbow. Boone said that Cole should start on either Monday or Tuesday.

There is still no timetable for Cole to return, although he set a goal to come back by June 1. It has been roughly three weeks since the Yankees shut down their ace, who managed to avoid Tommy John surgery after being diagnosed with elbow inflammation without UCL damage.

Although the Yankees have gotten off to a strong 7-2 start thanks to clutch hitting and pitching, the loss of Cole for the first few months is still a big obstacle for the rotation to overcome due to the length he would give in his starts. Currently, the rotation consists of Nestor Cortes Jr., Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil; although the Yankees managed to get five innings out of their starters in six of their nine games so far, Stroman has been the only one to pitch six full innings, doing so in both of his starts.

If the Yankees are unable to get length out of their starters, that would put more pressure on the bullpen, which has been prone to burning out late in the season despite starting strong; this has been further exacerbated by the loss of Jonathan Loaisiga for the rest of the season. Last year, Cole led the American League with 209 innings pitched and a 2.63 ERA en route to winning the Cy Young Award.

Regardless, this update confirms that Cole is on an optimal pace to return to the team, and his goal to come back in early June looks fairly realistic as long as he doesn't encounter any setbacks. If the team can continue their winning ways as their ace recovers, they will be in a fantastic position when Cole is ready to take the mound.