Yankees' Gerrit Cole Pitching Off a Mound in Backyard With Teammate Adam Ottavino During Quarantine

Missing baseball? This will quench your Yankees baseball needs for the day.

New York's ace Gerrit Cole, along with reliever Adam Ottavino, took their talents outside the house on Sunday for a bullpen session.

Ottavino captured his new teammate throwing off a mound donning a Yankees cap, posting three pictures to his Instagram feed. He captioned the moment "backyard baseball."

Just a few days ago – after announcing a "signficant" donation to COVID-19 relief in NYC – Cole revealed that he had been working out with Ottavino during MLB's hiatus. 

He told the NY Post that he's been "hunkered down" in his new residence in suburban Connecticut with his wife, evidently not too far away from where Ottavino and his family reside. Although it's a challenge to find normalcy during these unprecedented times, Cole is doing his best to find a routine working out and keeping his arm in shape.

With no definitive date set for Opening Day, all pitchers can do is keep as close to game readiness as possible. That way, assuming the season eventually begins in the next few months, a brief Spring Training will be enough time to adjust to the unique schedule.

Just this past week, Ottavino told Meredith Marakovits of YES Network that although it's impossible to be completely ready, his backyard workouts keep his arm moving so he doesn't lose the progress he's made this spring.

READ: Adam Ottavino on keeping in touch with his teammates, backyard workouts

New pitching coach Matt Blake is also adjusting to these extemporaneous circumstances. He told reporters on a conference call last week that he's kept in touch with all members of the pitching staff as they've dispersed to their respective personal homes around the world, ensuring everyone is healthy.

Blake, Ottavino and Cole are not alone. All players and coaches across baseball are in a period of uncertainty, taking it day by day and awaiting updates on the status of this virus. In accordance with the CDC's recommendation to suspend all gatherings, MLB postponed Opening Day for the next eight weeks. 

As cities like Toronto begin to ban city-led events, however, chances of the 2020 regular season kicking off in the near future look bleaker by the day.

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For more from Max Goodman, follow him on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. Follow ITP on Twitter @SI_Yankees and Facebook @SIYankees