Gerrit Cole is set to make his Grapefruit League debut this season on Friday against the Blue Jays, as the Yankees will host them at George M. Steinbrenner Field. A classic Friday night Spring game at GMS, Cole will return to the mound for the first time since that infamous Game 5 start.
Outside of Carlos Rodon, who pitched on the road in Dunedin, none of the Yankees’ projected five rotation starters have pitched in a Spring Training game yet. While Clarke Schmidt has dealt with a cranky back, the other three have been taking a more careful approach to their build-ups, which makes sense considering all of them pitched in October.
In the case of Gerrit Cole, his offseason was the shortest of them all as he pitched on the final day of the 2025 season.
Yankees’ Gerrit Cole To Debut On Friday Against the Blue Jays
Last season, Gerrit Cole made it through just one Spring Training start before landing on the IL with an elbow issue that could have been catastrophic. The right-hander came back in June, pitching to a 3.41 ERA across 17 starts and getting better as the season went on. His stuff and command looked sharp after struggling through his first four outings, but a healthy Cole with a full Spring Training could threaten for the AL Cy Young Award.
While he doesn’t have the same blistering fastball from his days in Houston, Gerrit Cole’s Stuff+ didn’t drop by a single point in 2024 from 2023, with his command taking a step back due to his early-season struggles. Cole discussed a different kind of ramp-up this season, trying to switch things up after he hurt his elbow last March.
2024 was the first time Gerrit Cole didn’t take the ball for the Yankees on Opening Day since signing his nine-year contract, and the Yankees are hoping to have their ace back for the start of the season.
READ MORE: Yankees’ catcher set to make 2025 Spring Training debut this afternoon
Gerrit Cole only got better as the season went on, and the Yankees are excited at the possibility of getting the crafty version of their ace for a full 162 games. They’ll monitor his workload though as a result of throwing his fewest innings pitched since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, which can leave the door open for injury if he shoulders too much of a workload improperly.
The Yankees are hoping their rotation depth can supplement this staff in times of need, with all five of their starters likely not able to make their start every five days. Last season the Yankees used eight different starting pitchers in what was a relatively injury-free season for their staff given how injury-prone the position can be. This year we could see closer to 10 starters used, but if they can rely on Gerrit Cole to make his 30 starts, they’ll be in a good spot.