Yankees Ace Gerritt Cole To Make Season Debut On Friday Against Rays

Gerrit Cole is scheduled to return from Tommy John surgery Friday night and make his season debut for the New York Yankees against Tampa Bay.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced the plan Tuesday before his team's game against Toronto.

Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner, hasn't pitched in the major leagues since October 2024 in Game 5 of the World Series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Been a long time," Boone said. "We're thrilled to get him back."

Even after fellow Yankees ace Max Fried landed on the 15-day injured list last weekend with a left elbow bone bruise, Boone said the team still intended to have Cole make a seventh minor league rehabilitation start this week before rejoining the big league rotation.

But after the 35-year-old right-hander threw 86 pitches over 5 1/3 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against the Syracuse Mets on Saturday night, Cole and the Yankees changed course.

"When we all looked at it and just considered all the variables, it checked all the boxes," Cole said.

He will start the series opener at Yankee Stadium against the AL East rival Rays, who swept three games from New York last month in Florida and entered Tuesday with the top record in the majors at 31-15.

"I expect it to be intense. Tough matchup. Lot of balls in play. Control the running game," Cole said. "Lot of pressure from the other team."

Reporting by the Associated Press