TAMPA, Fla. — The radar gun on the centerfield scoreboard at Steinbrenner Field told a story that words alone could not capture on Friday morning. The number 96.9 flashed across the video board. And just like that, the conversation around the Yankees shifted from cautious optimism to something far more electric.
Gerrit Cole, the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner, faced live hitters for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last March. The 35-year-old right-hander needed only about 20 pitches and one simulated inning to remind everyone why the Yankees handed him a $324 million contract.
But this was no gentle return to the mound. Cole attacked the strike zone with a purpose that caught even his own teammates off guard. And it buried the talk of Yankees running it back.
Yankees veterans stayed behind to watch Cole’s showcase
While the Yankees shipped a travel squad to Sarasota for their Grapefruit League opener against the Baltimore Orioles, most of the big names stayed back in Tampa. The reason was simple. They wanted to watch Cole.
Carlos Rodon, himself working back from left elbow surgery, summed up the mood in camp perfectly.
“This is the better story right here. I’m sticking around to watch,” Rodon said with a grin.
Steinbrenner Field was closed to the public. There was no opposing team. No crowd noise. Just a quiet morning session on Field 1 that felt anything but routine.
Three personal VIPs watched from behind home plate. Cole’s wife, Amy, and their two young sons, Caden and Everett, had front-row seats for a red-letter moment in the ace’s comeback journey.
Max Fried threw first, spinning through his full arsenal during the session. He faced Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham before yielding the mound to Cole. The PA system played “Magic” by Lil Skies as Cole walked to the rubber. What followed lived up to the soundtrack.
Cole’s fastball reached 96.9 mph in a dominant eight-pitch stretch
Before he threw a single pitch, Cole crouched behind the mound and paused for a few seconds. The past year had been unfamiliar territory for a pitcher who built his career on durability and dominance. Then he stood up and went to work.
Cole faced three Yankees hitters: Grisham, Judge and Jasson Dominguez. He struck out Grisham on a 95 mph fastball at the top of the zone. He induced a ground ball to the right side from Judge. Dominguez had the best contact of the session, lining a ball to right-center that might have split the gap in a real game.
The velocity told the real story. Cole’s fastball opened around 90 to 91 mph before climbing quickly. Against Grisham, it sat at 95. Then against Judge, it ranged from 95.2 to the session-high 96.9 mph. The competitive fire was unmistakable.
Aaron Judge described the moment perfectly.
“The first couple were around 90, 91. I was like, all right, he’s going to kind of ease into it,” Judge said. “Then it was 95, and then he made a couple 97s in there. I told myself I was just tracking today and I’ve taken three swings. He’s a competitor. When he steps on the mound and gets the juices flowing, got a guy in the box. He kind of pumps you up a little bit.”
Cole has also adopted a new overhead delivery since the surgery. He now puts his hands over his head during his windup, a change from his previous chest-level stop. The adjustment did nothing to dull his arm speed.
Judge and Blake rave about Cole’s command and arm strength
It was not just the velocity that impressed. Cole worked the corners and attacked every quadrant of the zone with precision. Close your eyes and listen to the fastball popping the catcher’s glove, and you would never know the man on the mound had torn his UCL less than a year ago.
“It looked just like any other year, where he’s pumping 97 mph, he’s working the corners, he’s attacking the strike zone,” Judge said. “It looked like the old 45 I’ve seen for years, just dominating this league like he’s done his whole career. If you wouldn’t have told me that he just got off Tommy John, and this is his first time facing live hitters, you would have never known.”
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake monitored the session before making the 90-minute drive to Sarasota for the exhibition opener. His assessment matched the captain’s.
“Pretty crisp, like really good lines with the fastball, controlling the zone,” Blake said. “Seemed to be under control. Definitely more lively than we were all anticipating, in a good way. Like both the control of the intensity and the emotion of being back on the mound.”
Cole was practically mobbed by teammates after wrapping up his 18-to-20-pitch session. They were thrilled for the man. They were just as thrilled for what it meant for the roster.
Judge calls Cole’s return a game-changer for the Yankees rotation
The Yankees missed Cole for the entire 2025 season after his diagnosis sent shockwaves through the organization just weeks before Opening Day. New York still managed 94 wins behind Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Will Warren and rookie Cam Schlittler. But the absence of their ace was felt, especially in October when the Blue Jays knocked them out in the ALDS.
Now the Yankees can start to picture a rotation that features Cole atop a staff that already includes Fried, Schlittler, Warren, Ryan Weathers and Luis Gil. Rodon is expected back from his own surgery around late April or May. Clarke Schmidt should follow later in the summer.
The standard Tommy John recovery window runs 14 to 18 months. Cole’s surgery took place on March 11, 2025. The shorter end of that timeline points to a May return. If the Yankees place him on the 60-day injured list for roster flexibility, he would not be eligible until May 24. Either way, Friday’s performance suggests the earlier side of those projections is within reach.
Manager Aaron Boone, who drove to Sarasota and relied on Blake’s report, declined to commit to a specific next step. The Yankees are playing it smart. Cole himself scooped up his family and left the stadium soon after the session, skipping his usual media availability.
Blake urged patience despite the encouraging results.
“I almost feel like just kind of compartmentalize like, it’ll get here when it gets here,” Blake said. “You never know how it’s going to unfold. We’ve had a lot of guys that have rehabbed over the years. You just never know how we’re going to get there. But I’m happy with how things are going.”
Judge, however, did not hold back. He framed Cole’s impending return as the equivalent of a blockbuster offseason addition. And he took aim at critics who accused the Yankees of standing pat this winter.
“We’re not the same without him on the field, showing up for us every five days,” Judge said. “That’s why I got mad when people were harping on us about running back the same team. You get back a Cy Young winner like that, it’s not the same team. I like our chances. It’s going to be a special year, and I know Cole’s still ramping up, but I think his best games and best innings are still ahead of him in October this year.”
On Friday at Steinbrenner Field, that October vision felt closer to reality than it has in a long time. The Yankees will proceed with caution. Cole has earned the right to set his own timetable. But the fastball spoke louder than any press conference ever could. And the Yankees heard every word.
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