NEW YORK — The road trip is over. The Yankees are home. And the injury front, after weeks of waiting, is finally starting to move in one direction.
Three separate Yankees developments broke on Thursday. Each one added detail to when the walking wounded return to a team that went 7-2 without them. Carlos Rodon picked up where his first rehab outing left off. Anthony Volpe edged toward activation. Gerrit Cole gave a number on his recovery. He also explained a delivery change nobody had asked about yet.
Put all three together and the Yankees rotation picture is starting to focus.
Rodon fans eight in dominant Double-A outing
Rodon posted an 18-9 record with a 3.08 ERA and 203 strikeouts in his last Yankees season. Thursday’s outing was a reminder that pitcher still exists.
Rodon struck out eight batters across 5 and a third innings for Somerset against Portland. He threw 75 pitches, 51 for strikes. He allowed two hits. One run scored on a leadoff homer by Miguel Bleis in the fifth, ending a four-inning shutout. He walked nobody until the sixth. Three straight balls. Two runners on. He was pulled.
It was his second Yankees rehab start. He had surgery in October to remove loose bodies and shave a bone spur from his left elbow. His first outing was last Friday at High-A Hudson Valley. Four and a third scoreless innings. Four strikeouts. One hit. Sixty-five pitches. Both starts have added volume and confidence.
Rodon talked after the outing about where he stands and what he still needs. His answer made it clear that the competitive fire has not dimmed one degree.
“I feel close,” Rodon said. “Obviously, I want to be pitching for my boys up there and trying to win ball games. I’m ready when they tell me they need me.”
Manager Aaron Boone pumped the brakes on any suggestion that Rodon might slot into the Yankees rotation as early as May 5. At least one more Yankees rehab start is likely before that decision is made.
Volpe trending toward Friday activation
Anthony Volpe’s shoulder has cleared every hurdle. He has played 10 rehab games. He logged 34 plate appearances. He completed back-to-back nine-inning games at Double-A Somerset. No setback.
Boone set those back-to-back full games as the benchmark. Volpe passed it. All indicators point to a healthy Yankees-ready shoulder after October surgery to repair a torn left labrum. The weeks since have been a compressed spring training, nothing more.
Boone would not lock in a Friday return date when asked Wednesday. Volpe was trending toward it. His 20-day rehab clock runs through Sunday. The Yankees could give him a few more games if they want. Either way, the decision is days away. Not weeks.
Volpe’s return adds immediate complexity to the Yankees infield. Jose Caballero has started 30 of the team’s first 31 games at short. He is hitting .338 over his last 18 and leads the AL with 12 stolen bases. How Boone handles the transition will be a defining storyline of May.
Cole unveils new windup, eyes late May return
Gerrit Cole has not thrown a regular-season Yankees pitch since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. Tommy John surgery wiped out all of 2025. Wednesday was his third rehab start at Double-A Somerset. He covered 5 and two-thirds innings. Not one walk issued.
His pitch counts have risen each start: 44, 52, 60. Across all three, he has walked one batter and thrown 79 percent of pitches for strikes. The changeup, used just four percent of the time in his 2024 Yankees season, has been featured throughout. Cole singled it out as his best offering Wednesday.
There is also something new to watch. Cole has a new windup. It is an over-the-head motion. He developed it with Yankees PT and rehab coordinator Joe Bello. Reporters noticed it fast. Cole addressed it plainly.
“I just generally enjoy the rhythm of it,” Cole said. “I think it keeps the tempo of the delivery kind of upbeat and fluid.”
The Yankees are targeting late May to early June for Cole’s return. Nothing Wednesday changed that. Cole last pitched in a World Series. He sat out an entire season. His team is at the top of the AL East without him. He was asked if staying patient is hard.
“I want to get there, but I have to build such a big base to get up there, get in the flow and start to execute,” Cole said. “In that regard, it’s easy to stay focused, even though when I’m daydreaming sometimes, I’m wishing that I’m pitching against the Rangers.”
The Yankees rotation without Cole and Rodon has posted a 3.11 ERA through the first 31 games. Young arms have carried the load, with 175 strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting .203 against it. That is not a staff that needs rescuing. But Cole back alongside Rodon, Fried and Schlittler would make a very good rotation something else entirely.
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