Gerrit Cole to make first Yankees start since 2024 World Series, Aaron Boone announces

A month into the MLB season, batters are making frequent use of the new ABS challenge system.

Gerrit Cole is finally ready for his New York Yankees return since having Tommy John surgery.

Cole will make his 2026 season debut on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays - his first start for the Yankees since 2024.

Cole, 35, missed the entirety of the 2025 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a tear in his right UCL.

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Gerrit Cole pitches for the Hudson Valley Renegades during Thursday’s game versus the Brooklyn Cyclones on April 23, 2026. (Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The Yankees’ starting pitching staff has been a stellar group to start the 2026 campaign, but Cole’s return comes at a perfect time as fellow ace Max Fried in on the injured reserve with an elbow injury of his own. He is expected to miss around one month.

Manager Aaron Boone, who announced the move for Cole on Tuesday before the team’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, said on Monday that the Yankees were considering sticking with the original plan of having Cole make a seventh and final rehab start before his season debut with the team.

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"We’ll see," he said prior to the Yankees winning its 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 writing appeared to be on the wall, though, as the Yankees optioned Elmer Rodriguez, who started in place of Fried against the New York Mets over the weekend, back down to Triple-A. They called up reliever Yovanny Cruz instead of getting another starter in the clubhouse.

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