Yankees manager Aaron Boone provides the latest Gerrit Cole update.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is eligible to return from the injured list in late May. Yankees manager Aaron Boone recently declined to predict an injury return date for the reigning American League Cy Young winner, though.

“I’m sure it’s soon, but I don’t have that,” Boone said, via nydailynews.com. “I wouldn’t even want to guess on that. He and the trainers and everyone’s kind of working through that. So we’ll see.”

Cole, who is dealing with an elbow issue, also previously received an update from MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, via FOX Sports: MLB on X (formerly Twitter).

“He’s been throwing off flat-ground and the expectation is that he will get off a mound sometime in the next week,” Rosenthal said Monday. “Keep in mind, he cannot come off the injured list until May 27th. and it’s probably unlikely he will be ready at that time. He might require a little bit more. Typically because it’s a six-week build-up normally for pitchers in spring training. And that would be before six weeks are up.

“The good news for the Yankees is that they’re winning. And they’re doing really well without Cole so there’s no need for them to push this, not that they would anyway. They can simply wait until he is ready.”

Yankees fans would love for Cole to return as soon as possible. As Rosenthal noted, though, there is no reason to rush the ace back. New York’s primary goal is to have Cole return for the stretch run toward the end of the season. He will probably return before that, but there is no rush at the moment.

Yankees winning despite Gerrit Cole’s injury absence

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The Yankees are battling with the Baltimore Orioles for the top spot in the American League East. There was realistic uncertainty for 2024 once Cole went down with his injury. New York has impressed despite the circumstances, however.

Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, and Nestor Cortes have all pitched well. All three pitchers dealt with injury concerns of their own in 2023, but they have found success so far in 2024.

The Yankees’ lineup has some question marks but it should produce enough value to give the team opportunities to win moving forward. As long as New York can remain in contention for now, they will be in a great position to make a run at the division title once Gerrit Cole returns.

Cole was terrific in 2023. He led the league in ERA (2.63), WHIP (0.981), games started (33), and innings pitched (209). He added 222 strikeouts and ultimately won the American League Cy Young Award.

The Yankees were hopeful that Cole would have another Cy Young-caliber campaign in 2024. He suffered an injury scare in spring training, though.

Yankees fans immediately feared the worst. Fortunately, it was revealed that Cole would be able to return during the regular season. The injury could have been far worse, but being without your ace for any period of time is obviously far from ideal.

It is unclear when Cole will return at the moment. We will continue to monitor and provide updates on the Yankees ace as they are made available.