The New York Yankees are closer to having star pitcher Gerrit Cole back in their rotation. Cole will start a minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Tuesday, according to manager Aaron Boone. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has been out for the season due to right elbow inflammation but has progressed well in recent throwing sessions, including facing live hitters.
Boone mentioned that the number of rehab starts Cole will have depends on his performance and response in those outings. It is expected that he will have at least a couple starts in the minors before rejoining the big league club, potentially by mid-June. The Yankees, who hold the best record in the AL with a 41-19 record, have excelled in Cole’s absence thanks to stellar starting pitching.
Yankees starters currently have a 2.73 ERA, second only to the Philadelphia Phillies in all of MLB. Recently, the rotation set an MLB record with 16 consecutive starts of at least five innings while allowing two runs or fewer. The streak came to an end last Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels, but the Yankees’ pitching staff has been one of the best in baseball.
With Clarke Schmidt on the injured list due to a right lat strain, the Yankees called up Cody Poteet from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to fill his spot in the rotation. Poteet impressed in his outing, allowing two earned runs with six strikeouts in five innings against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.[
