It’s been 371 days since Yankees ace Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery, and the wait to see him back on a mound seems to be over. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Cole will start tomorrow’s Grapefruit League game for the Yankees. He’s slated to pitch one inning in his return to game action.
An exact return timetable for Cole remains unclear. The 35-year-old is still a lock to open the season on the injured list. Even if tomorrow’s one inning goes off without a hitch, he’ll need further time to build up to a starter’s workload. That can’t be accomplished in the final week of spring training, but it’s at least feasible that if Cole is ready to throw an inning in a game right now, he could return to the Yankees in late April.
Cole didn’t pitch at all in 2025 after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament last spring and undergoing Tommy John surgery on March 11. Elbow troubles also limited him to 17 starts (95 innings) in 2024. He hasn’t had a full, health seasons since 2023 — though that proved to be quite the year; Cole tossed 209 innings with a 2.63 ERA, made his sixth All-Star team and won his first Cy Young Award. There’s no telling to how his elbow will respond to tomorrow’s more intense setting until he takes the bump, but the fact that he’s doing so a week before the Yankees even open their season is an encouraging development for Yankee fans.
There’s also good news on the team’s other high-priced but injured starter. Carlos Rodón underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in October. Manager Aaron Boone said when camp opened that the big lefty could be back before the end of April. Those comments came nearly a month ago, but it appears Rodón is still on that same track. Boone told reporters this morning that he expects Rodón back “at some point in April,” via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Boone did not commit to the left-hander pitching in a game before spring training ends but also didn’t rule it out. He’s slated for a live batting practice session this week.
Rodón, 33, pitched 195 1/3 innings with a 3.09 earned run average last season. He stepped up in a big way following Cole’s injury, as both that innings count and his 33 games started were career-high marks. Rodón’s injury history is well known, and October’s surgery is the latest data point on his track record, but the 2024-25 seasons marked the first time in Rodon’s career that he started 30-plus games in back-to-back seasons. He’s a long shot to make it three in a row this year, but if he can return in April and remains healthy, he won’t be too far shy of 30 starts.
Good news notwithstanding, the Yankees will open the season with two of their “big three” free agent starters on the shelf. The third, left-hander Max Fried, will get the ball on Opening Day against Giants ace Logan Webb in San Francisco next Wednesday. He’ll be followed in some order by Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and offseason trade acquisition Ryan Weathers. All four members of that quartet have minor league options remaining, so their performances both late in camp and early in the season will be worth watching with a close eye. By early May, it’s possible that two of those younger, less-established arms will have been optioned to Triple-A (assuming good health throughout the group — which is never a given).
On the position side of things, Boone confirmed today that he’d be comfortable with Ryan McMahon playing shortstop in a regular season game (via Kirschner). The 31-year-old is slated to open the season at third base but has been getting reps at shortstop throughout camp. He’s one of the game’s better defenders at the hot corner, and it seems he’s shown enough this spring to gain Boone’s trust as a backup option.
McMahon isn’t going to start at shortstop with any regularity, but his ability to at least capably handle that position in a pinch is notable. Anthony Volpe will begin the season on the injured list following offseason shoulder surgery, paving the way for José Caballero to start at shortstop early in the year. Light-hitting utilityman Max Schuemann is the only real shortstop option on the 40-man roster beyond McMahon, so McMahon’s ability to function as Caballero’s backup impacts the composition of the club’s bench.
Backup catcher J.C. Escarra, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and veteran infielder Amed Rosario are all locked into bench spots. Rosario was a shortstop earlier in his career but rated poorly there and played only two shortstop innings last year and 101 the year prior.
If not McMahon, the Yankees might have felt they needed Schuemann or a non-roster invitee like Jonathan Ornelas, Zack Short or veteran Paul DeJong on the bench. All four have had decent or better spring showings. McMahon serving as Caballero’s primary backup option gives Boone and GM Brian Cashman some more flexibility when deciding on the final spot, however. That could pave the way for non-roster pickup Randal Grichuk to make the club and serve as a righty-swinging complement to Trent Grisham, who batted .182/.303/.348 against lefties even during 2025’s breakout year.
I think it makes sense to let McMahon play some SS. It would be different if he was a star offensive player. But his calling card is defense. Let it shine.
Huh? They have two defensive first SS’s rostered, why take the defensive first 3B and make him play SS when they dont really have any other legit 3B options?
I get Volpes hurt but you’d create one hole defensively to fill another, just doesnt make sense logistically. He should really only play SS in emergencies and not actually be relied on as an option
It’s the Crashman and Boondoggle way, put players in positions they have no business playing.
@Begamin
It creates more roster flexibility at SS. The same with Ben Rice who hasn’t caught this entire S.T. except for bullpens. They’re both available in emergencies.
Because that’s what good teams and players do, begamin. McMahon doesn’t have the bat to demand always getting PT and SS is the more important position defensively. This stuff is things you should learn in little league. These are ball players and the Yankees are literally designed to teach baseball players how to play this sport. If he can’t handle it and injuries don’t force you to play him, you don’t play him but the versatility is incredibly valuable if a couple injuries hit at the same time. Which is pretty common over 162
Playing McMahon at shortstop is only going to be in “emergency situations” so just get that out of your head.
Makes sense to use McMahon in a pinch if Caballero gets hurt in a game. If that were to happen I imagine they’ll make a roster move the next day to bring in a legitimate SS. Watching McMahon at SS in ST was a little rough. He didn’t look comfortable at all
This bench is so oddly constructed. All the options are some shade of terrible.
i’m not a cashman booster but the bench seems very-good-enough to me. escarra is an acceptable BUC and goldschmidt/rosario/grichuk can hang in against tough lefties. rice is still scary at first base so goldy is a logical defensive replacement. faint praise for a huge-market team but the bench could be worse
I don’t disagree, but I would call this bench a very inelegant answer to a complicated question. They don’t really have a great backup for SS (or 2b, for that matter) unless they roster one of the less appealing vets in camp which means relegating Grichuk to the minors (or off the team). Goldy can only play one position, and the weak platoon side at that. BUCs are what they are, so whatever. Rosario seems to play most defensive positions cromulently (at best).
‘Bench could be worse’ is probably the most charitable description of it. I look at this and kind of shrug and say ‘I guess’, which is a less than enthusiastic way to view a team that wants to win a world series.
Yanks need to give Spencer a call up alredy
They’re wasting 30-30 potential
30-30 with a 39% k rate
If I was a yankee fan I would want to see him too. But where do you put him?
I hope this was written with AI, because the numerous mistakes make it difficult to read…. As I tell my students, proofread and edit before submitting a formal assignment, little mistakes such as these can damage your credibility.
Some may call me names –“grammar fascist” or whatever, but why is it so hard for people to write well?
“He hasn’t had a full, health seasons since 2023 — though that proved to be quite the year; Cole tossed 209 innings with a 2.63 E.RA, made his sixth all star team and won his first Cy Young award”. Quite the bizarre word salad. Like we tell our cats when they try to eat too fast and end up hurling the food all over the carpet: slow down! Aside from the sics, I think your readers know who Gerrit Cole is. Are you going to fit in other elements of his linked in profile into that run-on, maybe a blurb about how his grandfather was a coal miner from Pennsylvania?
Thhhhhheeeeeeeeee Yankees Win!! 🤣
This team is MID. Cole fried and rodon are all fragile ughhh