Yankees' Ace Officially Scheduled to Return This Week

He's back.

On Monday afternoon, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed what every Yankee fan on Earth was anticipating: the return of Gerrit Cole. The Bronx Bombers' ace and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner will make his season debut on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

Gerrit Cole will be the starting pitcher for the New York Yankees on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium at 7:05 PM ET against the Baltimore Orioles, per Aaron Boone pic.twitter.com/IIx3Gd6JwZ
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 17, 2024

Cole had been sidelined since spring training due to discomfort in his throwing elbow; fortunately, it was determined that the discomfort was due to nerve inflammation, with no damage to the UCL.

Having avoided Tommy John surgery, the 33-year-old right-hander would work his way back to the majors without any setbacks in his throwing program, culminating with three rehab assignments in the minors; the first two were with the Double-A Somerset Patriots, while the last was with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Last season, Cole won his first career Cy Young Award by a unanimous margin. He led the American League with 33 starts, 209 innings pitched, and a 2.63 ERA and 165 ERA+; he additionally led the majors with a 0.981 WHIP. Overall, Cole went 15-4 (.789 winning percentage) while also striking out 222 batters.

Despite the Tommy John scare that sidelined Cole for roughly three-to-four months, the Yankees' starting rotation wouldn't just survive, but also thrived. New York's pitching currently leads the majors with a 3.05 ERA, thanks to the efforts of Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes Jr., Clarke Schmidt, and occasional spot starts by Cody Poteet; despite an injury to Schmidt, the return of Cole absolutely ameliorates this.

What makes Cole's return even better was its timing: although the Yankees still have the best record in baseball at 50-24, the second-place Orioles also have the second-best record in the majors at 47-24 and are just 1.5 games behind the Bronx Bombers in the AL East. Additionally, the two teams are set to meet in Yankee Stadium for a three-game series from Tuesday to Thursday, with the winner of the series likely moving into first place. With Cole now pitching the middle game (facing rookie Cade Povich, who is making just his third career start), the Yankees have the pitching advantage for all three games.

This is a great first test for Cole, as he will be facing a powerful Orioles lineup that includes Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander, and more. But if there's anyone who can handle such a fearsome batting order, it's Cole.

The Yankees had done a brilliant job getting to this point without their ace, with a combination of fantastic hitting and pitching making them a World Series favorite. Now, Cole is back in his rightful place at the top of the starting rotation, and the team is now (according to general manager Brian Cashman) a "fully-operational Death Star" that is more than capable of winning their first World Series championship since 2009.

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