BRONX, N.Y. — The New York Yankees made one roster move on Monday afternoon. They called up reliever Yovanny Cruz to sole the bullpen trouble. They sent rookie Elmer Rodriguez to Triple-A to create a roster spot. The move looked routine. But it was not.
That single transaction quietly opened the most consequential pitching decision of the Yankees’ 2026 season. Because as of Monday night, the Yankees have no starting pitcher scheduled for Friday’s game against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. And the man being mentioned as the likely solution is the same man who has not pitched in a major league game since Oct. 30, 2024.
That man is Gerrit Cole. And the Yankees now have to decide whether to bring him back this weekend or extend a rehab assignment they had originally planned to stretch one more start.
The Rodriguez demotion changed everything
On Sunday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters at Citi Field that Rodriguez would make one more start in the rotation before Cole returned. The 22-year-old rookie had impressed in his third major league start, working four and one-third innings against the Mets and giving the Yankees a 6-3 lead before the bullpen unraveled.
By Monday afternoon, that plan had been rewritten. Rodriguez was optioned. Cruz was added. The Yankees explained the swap as a bullpen necessity after a brutal road trip. The decision made sense in the short term. But it created a different problem one week out.
Optioned players generally have to spend 15 days in the minors before a recall is allowed, unless they are replacing an injured player. That rule means Rodriguez likely is not eligible to start Friday. The Yankees now have a rotation gap, and Boone has hours rather than days to fill it.
What Boone is actually saying about Cole’s return
Speaking with reporters Monday before the Yankees opened a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Boone made clear that the conversation about Cole’s return has changed dramatically. The manager was asked whether Cole’s next outing could be in the big leagues instead of one more Triple-A tune-up. His answer signaled where the Yankees are leaning.
“It’s on the table,” Boone said. “We’re kind of talking about that here today, tomorrow, and we’ll make a call one way or the other.”
MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch reported Monday that the Yankees are actively discussing bringing Cole straight back to the rotation rather than completing the planned seventh rehab outing. Boone’s confirmation removed any ambiguity about the timing.
“We’re talking through everything,” Boone added.
Boone, asked about his evaluation of Cole’s most recent rehab start, did not hide his satisfaction with what he had seen.
“He looks really good,” Boone said. “I think I’ve watched every pitch he’s made in rehab. I think it’s gone really well. He’s checked a lot of the boxes, and I feel like his last start was mostly excellent.”
The Saturday outing that may have decided it
Cole’s sixth rehab start on Saturday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is what really opened this door. The right-hander worked five and one-third innings. He allowed one run on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk across 86 total pitches, 56 of them for strikes.
More important than the line was the velocity. His four-seam fastball touched 99.6 mph. He averaged 97 mph across the outing. That figure stands out because Cole has not averaged 97 mph on the fastball during a regular season start since 2022.
Across his six rehab outings spanning 29 innings, Cole carries a 5.28 ERA. The earned run total is misleading. He has struck out 28 batters and walked just three. Command and control return last from Tommy John surgery. Cole’s command is already where it needs to be.
Boone, in expanding on Cole’s progression, framed Saturday’s outing as a step into game-mode rather than a rehab assignment.
“I think this [latest] outing was a little more with probably competition in mind, like going to get guys out and stepping on it stuffwise,” Boone said.
Cole himself, speaking to The Associated Press before that start, was reflective about the journey.
“It’s just a really long rehab,” Cole said. “If you include the offseason from the year prior, it’s been about 17 months since I last performed at the big leagues, so no matter how you slice it, that’s a long time.”
The alternatives are uncomfortable
The other options for Friday do not inspire confidence. Carlos Lagrange, a 22-year-old hard-throwing prospect, is in line at Triple-A. Asking him to debut against the division leader at this stage of his development would be a significant ask.
The Yankees could deploy Ryan Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn as openers and patch together a bullpen game. That choice carries its own risk. New York faces 13 consecutive games before the next off day. Burning a bullpen in mid-May is the kind of decision that haunts a team in August.
Bringing back Cole solves more problems than it creates. He would pitch Friday on five days’ rest, only one day above his usual schedule. The Rays will still be the Rays. But the Yankees would have their 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner on the mound rather than a debut starter or a bullpen scramble.
Why the Yankees need Cole this week
The context is important. Max Fried was placed on the injured list Friday with a left elbow bone bruise and no clear return timeline. Carlos Rodon came off the IL on May 10 but has struggled in his first two starts back. The Yankees rotation entered Monday with a 3.10 ERA, fifth-best in the majors, but the unit has been showing strain.
Before Fried’s injury, Boone had been facing a different problem. Cole’s return would have created six starters for five spots, forcing the Yankees to remove either Ryan Weathers or Will Warren from the rotation. Fried’s setback eliminated that decision. The opening exists. It now becomes a question of when the Yankees fill it.
Cole underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2025 after missing nearly three months of the 2024 season with right elbow inflammation. He did not pitch a single inning in 2025. Without him, the Yankees still won 94 games and reached the AL Division Series, where they lost to the Blue Jays in four games. The 35-year-old has been the ace of this rotation since 2020. The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2009. Every start he provides in 2026 matters more than the last.
The decision is in front of Boone now. Send Cole out for one more Triple-A start and patch Friday with a less-than-ideal solution. Or hand the ball to the franchise ace, on five days’ rest, with a 99.6 mph fastball already touched and a rotation that needs him.
Boone said the call comes Tuesday or Wednesday. The Yankees are listening. The Rays are coming. The clock is ticking.
What do you think? Is Gerrit Cole ready for return?
