New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole continues to work his way back from elbow nerve inflammation, and it seems unlikely he will be ready to return immediately when he's eligible.
Currently on the 60-day injured list and making throws from 120 feet, Cole is eligible to return from the injured list on May 27. It was never expected that he would come off the reserve list right away, especially considering the ramp-up he needs once he hits the mound.
Cole and the Yankees want him to get a six-week ramp-up period similar to Spring Training, and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported it's "probably unlikely" he'll be ready for May 27.
"[He] has been throwing off flat ground and the expectation is that he will get off a mound perhaps sometime in next week. Keep in mind he cannot come off the injured list until May 27. And it's probably unlikely he'll be ready at that time," Rosenthal said.
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This isn't all that much of a surprise even if Cole has said he has a target date of June 1, which is just a few days following his eligibility to return to the team.
Cole isn't going to push this return harder than it needs to be. The fact that he's already missing the first two months of the season is bad enough, but the Yankees have been able to win without him, which has been a pleasant surprise.
The next step for Cole is to get on the bullpen mound and start ramping up his pitches and intensity from there. Then, it will likely progress to simulated games and then a rehab assignment.
Everything seems to be going smoothly for Cole so it's just a matter of taking the process one step at a time for the Yankees ace.
For more Yankees coverage, check out Kevin Hickey's work on Sporting News.
