Yankees injury update: Rodon setback, Cole move, Volpe watch

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees started the 2026 season without three significant contributors. All three are working their way back. But the latest round of updates shows the picture is more complicated for one of them than the Yankees had hoped.

Manager Aaron Boone delivered a mixed injury report Tuesday that centered on left-hander Carlos Rodon, whose return from elbow surgery now faces a potential new obstacle just days before his first scheduled rehab start.

Rodon’s hamstring adds an unwanted complication

Rodon was on the verge of a milestone moment. A rehab start at Class AA Somerset had been penciled in for later this week, marking the All-Star left-hander’s first competitive outing since October elbow surgery to remove a bone spur and loose bodies.

Then came a new concern.

Rodon first felt tightness in his right hamstring Monday while running. Despite that, he did complete his throwing program on Tuesday, which Boone indicated suggests the Yankees are not in alarm mode. But the rehab start could be delayed.

“I don’t know if it’s going to slow him at all, but it could be something,” Boone said. “We’ll see what we have there.”

Boone added: “We’ll see if his rehab start is delayed at all. I don’t think it’s that big a deal. Hopefully it’s not.”

The timing is frustrating. Rodon had been making steady progress through bullpen sessions and live batting practice after working to adjust to a new arm angle with a now fully healthy elbow. He completed a 50-pitch live BP session on March 24, his fourth time facing hitters since the October procedure.

An 18-game winner and AL All-Star in 2025, Rodon posted a 3.09 ERA in 195.1 innings last regular season, striking out 203 hitters. His elbow started causing problems in October, limited him in the playoffs, and required surgery shortly after the Yankees’ postseason ended.

The initial target had been an April return. That slipped to May. Now, with a hamstring issue added to the equation, a May return may or may not still be possible, depending on how the next several days go.

Cole moves to the next rehab step

While Rodon’s update carries some uncertainty, the news on Gerrit Cole continues to trend in a positive direction. The Yankees’ ace is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session on April 1, his next building block in the Tommy John recovery that kept him off the mound for all of 2025.

From there, minor league rehab starts will follow over the next several weeks. The Yankees are not rushing Cole. The plan, consistent since his surgery on March 11, 2025, has been 14 to 18 months of recovery.

“The target has always been between 14 to 18 months,” Cole said after his spring training debut against the Red Sox on March 18. “That’s what the research says. That’s what the comps that we’ve looked at says and that’s what it’s always been.”

Cole surprised many observers by getting into two spring training outings. He threw a scoreless inning against Boston, averaging 97.1 mph on his fastball and touching 98.7 mph. He also made a second spring appearance against the Cubs.

Boone described Cole’s spring as encouraging. “I thought he looked good,” Boone said. “He looked strong, poised.” The Yankees continue to target a late May or early June return to the rotation for their 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner.

One notable development: Cole has adopted a new windup, bringing his hands well above his head rather than keeping them close to his chest as he had throughout his career. He said the hands-over-head delivery is part of the adjustment to his surgically repaired right elbow.

Volpe moving toward live at-bats

The most encouraging update in the Yankees’ injury picture belongs to shortstop Anthony Volpe. While Rodon and Cole remain months away, Volpe could be the first of the three to rejoin the active roster.

As of Tuesday, Volpe had been hitting off the Trajekt pitching machine and is expected to advance to live at-bats soon, according to Yankees beat reporter Bryan Hoch. Boone has been candid about Volpe’s progress in recent days.

“I think the last month, and even more specifically, the last couple of weeks, have been really encouraging where Volpe’s kind of turned that next corner of the rehab process,” Boone said. “I think if you ask him now, the last couple weeks, he feels like he’s a healthy guy now.”

Volpe, 24, underwent arthroscopic surgery in October 2025 to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder. The injury first occurred in May 2025 when he dove for a ball and felt a pop. He played through it for months with cortisone injections before the shoulder gave out again in September.

The Yankees placed him on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to March 22, before the season opened. Boone has said Volpe will likely begin a minor league rehab assignment around the second week of April, essentially running through a compressed spring training before returning to the major league club.

Jose Caballero has handled shortstop duties in Volpe’s absence and has been solid defensively. General manager Brian Cashman has made clear the job is Volpe’s when he returns. “Do I believe in Anthony Volpe? The answer is yes,” Cashman said.

The Yankees, now 4-1, will not have any of the three pitchers or Volpe for the foreseeable future. But the signs, with the exception of Rodon’s new hamstring wrinkle, point toward a rotation reinforcement arriving in the second half of April and again in late May.

Yankees IL tracker: Key players as of April 1, 2026

Source: Yankees injury reports, MLB.com, Bryan Hoch / MLB.com (March 31, 2026)

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