New York Yankees ace right-hander Gerrit Cole threw off the pitching mound on Saturday for the first time since being shut down with a right elbow injury.
Cole tossed 15 pitches — all fastballs — prior to the Yankees’ game against the visiting Detroit Tigers.
“It’s a good step,” said Cole, who has been sidelined since mid-March. “This is the most taste I’ve had of (pitching) in months, and I do miss it.”
The team will see how well Cole responds to this session before determining the next course of action.
“I think everyone in this room understands Gerrit, who he is, how much he loves what he does, and obviously, how good he is at it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “So it’s just the process of getting back, another step along the way to getting him back. Glad we were able to get to this point today. Onward and upward.”
Cole, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, has been one of the majors’ most durable pitchers, making at least 30 starts in every season since 2017 except for the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
Cole, 33, is coming off a season in which he went 15-4 while leading the AL in ERA (2.63) and innings pitched (209). He struck out 222 and walked 48.
The six-time All-Star is entering his fifth season with New York after previously pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2013-17) and the Houston Astros (2018-19).
In 300 career major league starts, Cole has a 145-75 record with a 3.17 ERA, 2,152 strikeouts and 471 walks in 1,859 innings.
