ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman gave their clearest injury updates of the season on Friday. The news was positive across the board.
Anthony Volpe is nearly ready. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is facing hitters. Carlos Rodon has recovered from a scare. And Clarke Schmidt stepped on a mound for the first time since his surgery.
Volpe is days away from a rehab start
Volpe traveled with the Yankees to Tampa this weekend. He had October surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He has been taking live at-bats at the club’s development complex in Tampa.
He will get more reps over the weekend. Then the Yankees shoststop flies back to New York with the team on Sunday night.
On Monday, he sees team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad. If he gets clearance, he could begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Somerset as early as Tuesday.
Cashman laid out the plan clearly. The Yankees GM wants roughly 55 at-bats before Volpe rejoins the active roster. The defense will also be built up gradually, from three innings to five, then seven, then nine.
“Looking to deploy him soon,” Cashman said. “We obviously want to get his legs under him. He’s been getting a lot of live at-bats. Typically you want to get like 55 at-bats of spring training for an everyday position player and then build him up safely with the defense from three to five to seven innings, then obviously nine innings.”
The Yankees manager noted how hard Volpe has been working, even without game action.
“They wear those Catapult [monitors] that track their workload,” Boone said. “His workload’s probably higher than if he was playing games, knowing him. Hopefully he hits the ground running with his rehab, whenever that begins.”
There was also a clear answer on whether Volpe returns as the starter. Cashman did not hesitate.
“That’s always been the plan,” the Yankees GM said. “But ultimately that’ll be the manager’s call.”
The current Yankees shortstop, Jose Caballero, is batting .135 with a .362 OPS and two errors through 12 games. Volpe’s job is waiting for him.
Cole set to face hitters Sunday at Hudson Valley
Gerrit Cole is at a stage of recovery that felt far away a year ago. He is now getting into game-like situations.
The Yankees ace is scheduled to face live hitters at High-A Hudson Valley on Sunday. It will be a short outing. But it is his most competitive work since before his Tommy John surgery.
He already appeared in two Grapefruit League games this spring. He threw 2 2/3 innings and posted a 3.38 ERA. Every step since then has gone according to plan.
The target return date is somewhere between late May and early June, per MLB.com. The Yankees are not rushing him. They want him fully built up before he slots back into the rotation.
The current starters have kept things stable. Max Fried has a 1.35 ERA. Cam Schlittler is at 1.62. Will Warren sits at 2.70. The rotation has been good enough. Cole’s return will make it exceptional.
Rodon bounces back from hamstring scare
The most anxious stretch of the Yankees’ injury season involved Carlos Rodon. That chapter appears to be over.
Rodon underwent elbow surgery last October to remove loose bodies. He was building toward a late-April return. Then, on March 31, he felt hamstring tightness during a throwing workout. The timeline suddenly looked uncertain.
It turned out to be a minor bump. Rodon returned to the mound the following weekend. The Yankees pitcher completed a 40-pitch bullpen session, per multiple reports. He is back on schedule.
His return window remains late April to early May. He will need a rehab assignment first. But the setback did not cost him significant time.
In 2025, Rodon was one of the Yankees’ best starters. He posted a 3.09 ERA across 195.1 innings and struck out 203 batters. Getting him back is important.
Schmidt steps on a mound for the first time
Clarke Schmidt had Tommy John surgery last July. On Friday in Tampa, the Yankees pitcher threw off a mound for the first time since then.
It was not a heavy session. Boone described three warmup pitches and five mound pitches. But it was the first step. And first steps matter.
“I think he threw three warm-up pitches and five pitches off the mound, so the ultimate touch and feel, but an important step along the way and good to see him doing well,” Boone said.
Schmidt was upbeat when talking about his recovery.
“I’m in the days of a lot of volume, in the build-up phase, and I don’t feel stressed at all,” the Yankees pitcher said. “It’s been the perfect amount where you have to work through it without it being too much for my body.”
The Yankees are targeting August for his return. He may come back as a reliever rather than a starter. Either way, he is not part of the current rotation picture. He is a second-half option.
The Yankees are 8-5 through 13 games. They have managed all four absences without falling apart. When these players return, the team gets better in stages. That is the plan. Right now, it is on track.
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