Had reigning AL Cy Young Gerrit Cole not been placed on the 60-day injured list on Thursday due to right elbow inflammation, he would have undoubtedly taken the mound for the New York Yankees Opening Day matchup with the Houston Astros. But, the Yankees learned they would be without their ace for a significant portion of the season, but not for the entirety of the campaign.
The Bronx Bombers prevailed sans their ace, defeating the Astros 5-4. But there are still questions and concerns surrounding Cole and a potential return, and fans are thirsting for answers.
However, Cole appears optimistic about where he is at this stage in his recovery process, revealing a prospective yet realistic timeline of when we should expect him to make his 2024 Yankees debut.
Gerrit Cole hints at potential return date for 2024 Yankees debut
Cole reportedly “feels good” and is “hopeful” to return at or around the rumored date of June 1, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
While a June return date may feel or sound far away, it aligns with the 60-day injury designation he was assigned. Cole is currently shut down from throwing for three-to-four weeks. From there, Cole will ramp up his recovery.
Right-hander Nestor Cortes operated as the de facto top-of-the-rotation pitcher for the Yankees in their inaugural 2024 game versus the ‘Stros, allowing five hits and four earned runs while striking out five batters across five innings.
New York is hoping to tread water without Cole, who led the AL in ERA (2.63) and innings pitched (209) and ranked third in strikeouts (222). But they will need to rely on their star-studded batting order consisting of Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and company to consistently score runs to make up for the lack of firepower in their pitching staff without him.
23-year-old right-hander Luis Gil was named the fifth starter in the rotation to begin the season in an attempt to fill the void left by Cole.