Yankees' Gerrit Cole Nearing Major Milestone After Another Successful Outing

New York certainly got some good news on Thursday involving one of its biggest stars

Mar 1, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees got some good news on Thursday.

New York has been without the services of their reigning American League Cy Young Award winning ace pitcher Gerrit Cole for the entire season to this point, but it sounds like he is making progress in his recovery. Cole took the mound for live batting practice on Thursday, tossed 43 pitches and everything went well, as he told reporter John Brophy.

Several hours later, Yankees manager Aaron Boone delivered an additional positive update that Cole could begin a rehab assignment as soon as "this coming week," per beat reporter Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

This is a great sign for a Yankees rotation that is now in desperate need of their ace after losing Clarke Schmidt to a lat strain, which will keep him from throwing for the next 4-6 weeks, as Boone shared with reporters on Thursday night. Schmidt will likely be out longer than this period as he will have to build his arm up again after missing so much time, as Jack Curry of the YES Network reported.

Following his latest live session, where he threw three up-downs (pitching and then sitting between innings), Cole told Brophy that he expects to throw again by the middle of next week. After that, it appears that the righty will be able to make his first rehab start as the next step, according to Boone.

Cole should give the Yankees a significant boost and it sounds like he isn't too far away from game action.

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