While Gerrit Cole took another step in his injury rehab with a live batting practice session Saturday, his son Caden stole the show making his batboy debut for the Yankees.
Gerrit Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, hasn’t appeared in the majors since spring training due to elbow inflammation but has made considerable progress over the past week. His wife Amy posted video highlights of their family’s day at the ballpark, including Caden hard at work fetching bats and balls.
Since breaking into MLB with the Pirates in 2017, Gerrit Cole has established himself as one of baseball’s premier pitchers. He joined the Yankees in 2020 and has frequently been accompanied by Amy, whom he began dating in college before marrying in 2016.
The couple welcomed their first son, Caden, in 2020 and had their second child, Everett, last year. Amy documented Caden’s batboy duties on Instagram before he took the field to show off his baserunning skills with slides into the bases.
The family capped off the memorable day by celebrating Caden’s big league debut with his favorite foods – baked oysters and burgers – according to Amy’s social media posts.
While Gerrit Cole continues working toward a potential rehab assignment next week, his biggest fan enjoyed a unique insider’s view during the latest step of his father’s recovery process.
Gerrit Cole inches closer to returning to Yankees mound
Gerrit Cole reached another milestone in his recovery from an elbow injury that has sidelined the reigning American League Cy Young winner since spring training. On Saturday at the Yankees’ player development complex, he worked two full innings against minor league hitters.
Afterward, Gerrit Cole expressed satisfaction with the outing, saying via the Associated Press that they “hit all our goals” and “did exactly what we wanted to do today” by throwing a lot of strikes. He mentioned plans to face hitters again in roughly five days.
The extended live batting practice session represented a notable step forward for the Yankees ace, who threw just 20 pitches to teammates Oswaldo Cabrera and Jahmai Jones on Tuesday. After making only one spring start, Gerrit Cole was shut down due to elbow discomfort eventually diagnosed as nerve inflammation and edema.
He had optimistically suggested a potential June return to the Yankees‘ rotation, but he’ll need to continue checking off boxes and likely go out on a minor league rehab assignment to ramp up to game readiness.
When healthy, the 32-year-old has been one of baseball’s best pitchers for close to a decade. Over the past three seasons, Gerrit Cole has compiled a 3.11 ERA (135 ERA+) and an impressive 5.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In addition to winning his first Cy Young Award last fall, he received consideration in each of the previous five years, including second-place finishes in 2019 and 2022.
The loss of such an ace would typically be a major absence, but the Yankees’ rotation has been one of baseball’s best even without Cole. Entering Saturday night’s game against the Padres, New York sported a 36-17 record and first-place standing in the AL East despite Cole’s lengthy injury absence.
As Gerrit Cole continues making progress, the Yankees can remain patient knowing their strong start has provided a cushion while awaiting the return of their staff ace.
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