Gerrit Cole to make Yankees return Friday against Rays

Gerrit Cole will make his first start for the New York Yankees since 2024 when he takes the mound Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Cole, 35, missed the entire 2025 season after surgery to repair a torn right UCL. The Yankees have relied on strong starting pitching early in 2026, but Cole’s return comes as Max Fried sits on the injured list with an elbow injury expected to sideline him for about a month.

Manager Aaron Boone announced the move Tuesday before the team’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Boone said Monday the club had considered keeping Cole on his original plan for a seventh rehab start.

“We’ll see,” Boone said before the Yankees won their series opener against the Blue Jays. “We’re kind of talking about that here today, tomorrow, and we’ll make a call one way or another.”

The Yankees optioned pitcher Elmer Rodriguez to Triple-A and recalled reliever Yovanny Cruz instead of adding another starter.

Cole last pitched for the Yankees in Game 4 of the 2024 World Series. Since then, the club has received strong work from other starters, including Cam Schlittler. The 6-foot-6 right-hander leads the American League with a 1.35 ERA in 10 starts and has 68 strikeouts against 11 walks in 60 innings.

Schlittler has followed his strong Wild Card performance against the Boston Red Sox with consistent outings. Cole posted a 5.28 ERA over 29 innings in six rehab starts, but his fastball reached 99.6 mph in his most recent outing, when he allowed one run on six hits.

“He looks really good,” Boone said. “I think this [latest] outing was a little more with probably competition in mind, like going to get guys out and stepping on it stuff wise.”

Cole won the AL Cy Young Award in 2023 and signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees in 2019.