NEW YORK — The Yankees are winning. Six straight. First place in the AL East. Cam Schlittler is pitching like an ace and the offense is producing when it counts.
But two of the most important Yankees rotation leaders are still in the minors. And the team’s starting shortstop has not played a big-league game all year.
Aaron Boone gave updates on all three Thursday. His words on Gerrit Cole raised fresh questions about just how close the ace really is.
Cole makes his second rehab start, but the clock is ticking
Cole took the mound Thursday night for Class-A Hudson Valley against the Brooklyn Cyclones in Fishkill, N.Y. It was his second minor-league rehab outing since returning from Tommy John surgery.
He went 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs on five hits. He struck out four and walked nobody. He threw 52 pitches, 42 of them for strikes. A fourth-inning homer by Corey Collins and a fifth-inning sacrifice fly off the bat of Diego Mosquera were the only damage.
The Cole Train rides on through the Hudson Valley! 🚂
Cole called the night a step forward. When asked how his arm felt after the outing, he kept it brief. “Felt good. Got into the fifth again and threw all my pitches, so a good night,” he said, per video from the Hudson Valley Renegades.
Cole, 35, had his first rehab start the previous Friday at Double-A Somerset. In that one he allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings on three hits and one walk while striking out three.
The 15-day injured list clock is running. The Yankees placed Cole on the IL on March 25 as part of his Tommy John recovery. He missed all of 2025 after reconstructive elbow surgery the previous March. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2024, going 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 95 innings over 17 starts.
Gerrit Cole's second Minor League rehab start is in the books:
The Yankees are expected to use most, if not all, of Cole’s 30-day rehab window before activating him. That means fans should not expect him back until at least mid-May.
Boone’s comments suggest Rodon is ahead of Cole
Here is what stood out from Boone’s injury update Thursday. He was asked how close Cole and Carlos Rodon are to returning. His answer drew a clear line between them.
“I anticipate Carlos [Rodon] being closer, though,” Boone said.
"I anticipate Carlos [Rodón] being closer, though."
– Aaron Boone on how close Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are to returning to the Yankees pic.twitter.com/AIS2tyZvG2
That one sentence says a lot. Cole is still working through early rehab starts. Rodon, who has not pitched in a game at all in 2026, is scheduled to make his first rehab start Friday with Hudson Valley. Boone believes the left-hander will be ready to return to the Yankees before Cole.
Rodon is expected to need at least three rehab outings before the Yankees consider activating him. But based on Boone’s comments, the rotation reinforcement that arrives first may wear a left-handed glove.
Rodon, 33, has gone 37-26 with a 4.00 ERA and 462 strikeouts across 79 starts since signing with the Yankees as a free agent in November 2022. He is a three-time All-Star. The Yankees have been managing him carefully to get him right. Boone’s words suggest that patience is paying off.
Volpe is close but Yankees remain cautious
Anthony Volpe has not played a single MLB game in 2026. He has been working back from surgery in October to repair a partially torn left labrum in his shoulder. The injury had been affecting him for much of 2025, when he hit just .212 in 153 games.
The good news is that he is moving quickly through his rehab. At Double-A Somerset he hit .364 with four hits, two runs, a walk, and two stolen bases across four games. He was then promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he homered in his first appearance.
Boone said Thursday that Volpe took the day off from his rehab assignment. The plan is for him to play nine full innings at shortstop on Friday and Saturday, then serve as the designated hitter on Sunday. At that point the Yankees will decide whether he is ready to come back.
Boone offered an honest take on the timeline when pressed. “He’s getting close,” Boone said. “As this weekend unfolds, we’ll get a better idea.”
Boone declined to say whether Volpe would be back in time for the Yankees’ series at Texas that begins Monday. It would not be a surprise if the team waited until the following Friday, when New York opens a home series against the Orioles.
The roster math adds another layer. With Randal Grichuk, Amed Rosario, Paul Goldschmidt, and J.C. Escarra filling out the bench, the Yankees will need to move someone to make room. That decision is coming soon.
Volpe has 52 career home runs and two Gold Glove nominations across 472 big-league games. The Yankees need him back. Based on Boone’s Thursday update, the wait may be measured in days, not weeks.
