Gerrit Cole throws 6 2/3 scoreless innings, fans 10 in second start back for Yankees

What happened

Gerrit Cole, returning from Tommy John surgery that kept him out for the entire 2025 season, delivered what FanGraphs described as a performance in which he "truly looked back" during Wednesday night's start in Kansas City. Cole threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Royals, struck out 10 batters, and did not issue a single walk — a notably cleaner outing than his first start back the previous Friday, when he fired six scoreless innings against the Rays but, per FanGraphs, struggled to miss bats.

The former Cy Young winner's Wednesday performance is being received as a welcome development for a Yankees rotation that has been managing significant personnel challenges since Opening Day.

Why it matters

The Yankees began 2025 with Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt all recovering from elbow surgeries, per FanGraphs. Cole and Rodón have now returned to the rotation. But the unit is not yet whole: Max Fried — described by FanGraphs as the team's most valuable pitcher last season — is sidelined, as is 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil. The rotation has been carrying those absences while still producing at an elite level, and Cole's return adds a layer of depth and upside that the club had been without all year.

For a team that has leaned on its rotation as a structural advantage, the question of how long it can sustain that advantage without two of its most prominent arms is not a small one. Cole's return does not answer it entirely, but it meaningfully changes the picture.

Is Max Fried expected back soon?

That remains unconfirmed. FanGraphs notes that Fried has been "sidelined for a spell," but no timetable or diagnosis is attributed in the report. The same uncertainty applies to Gil. What the report does make clear is that the rotation has been performing at a high level despite those absences — which makes the question of when, or whether, those two return something the Yankees can afford to monitor rather than panic over, at least for now.

The numbers

Cole's Wednesday line — 6 2/3 innings, 10 strikeouts, zero walks, zero runs — is the kind of outing that tends to quiet concerns quickly. His first start back, six scoreless innings against Tampa Bay, was encouraging on the surface but came with the caveat, per FanGraphs, that he was not generating swings and misses at the rate you would expect from a pitcher of his caliber. The Kansas City start removed that caveat.

The rotation as a whole, per FanGraphs, leads the majors in WAR at 7.5 and leads the American League in a second category that the report references but does not complete in the available text. The 7.5 WAR figure is the one the desk can put a number to, and it is a striking one for a staff that has been operating without Fried and Gil for a meaningful stretch of the season.

Where the club stands

The Yankees carry a 93-68 record (.578) into the upcoming series, sitting second in the AL East, 4.5 games back in the division. They have been eliminated from the division race, but hold the top Wild Card position at +9.5 relative to the cut line — a comfortable cushion that reflects how well the roster has performed even through the rotation's injury management.

New York heads to Sutter Health Park for a three-game series against the Athletics beginning Friday, May 29. Carlos Rodón — himself a returning arm from elbow surgery, now back in the fold — is the probable starter Friday against Luis Severino. Saturday's probable is Ryan Weathers against J.T. Ginn. Sunday closes the series with Will Warren against Jacob Lopez.

The Yankees enter that series on a one-game winning streak. The Wild Card position gives the club room to breathe, but the schedule keeps moving, and the rotation will be asked to carry its share of the load regardless of who is or is not available.

What we don't know yet

The status of Max Fried and Luis Gil remains the central open question. FanGraphs characterizes both as sidelined but does not attach a diagnosis, a timeline, or a transaction detail to either absence. Whether either pitcher is on a rehab assignment, on the injured list, or simply being managed carefully is not specified in the report.

It is also worth noting that Cole's return is two starts old. The 6 2/3-inning, 10-strikeout performance in Kansas City is an encouraging data point, but the full picture of where he is physically — workload limits, pitch counts, any restrictions on his usage — is not addressed in the FanGraphs report. A pitcher returning from Tommy John surgery after missing an entire season is, by definition, a situation where the desk watches the next several starts before drawing conclusions.

Rodón's durability across the full season is similarly something to monitor, given that he, too, was recovering from elbow surgery entering the year.

What to watch

Cole's next scheduled start is the obvious thread to pull. After two scoreless outings, the question is whether his workload will be extended further or whether the club continues to manage him carefully as the season progresses. The FanGraphs report does not specify any usage restrictions, but the context of a full-season absence from Tommy John surgery makes that a reasonable thing for fans to track.

The Fried and Gil situations are the other variables. Any update on either pitcher's availability — whether that comes as a club announcement, a manager's pregame comment, or a transaction filing — would materially change the rotation picture for a team that is already getting elite-level production from a staff that has been short-handed.

The upcoming Athletics series also gives Rodón his next turn in the spotlight. Friday's matchup at Sutter Health Park will be another data point on how the returning left-hander is holding up across a full workload, and whether the Yankees' rotation depth holds as the calendar moves forward.

The rotation has been one of the best in baseball by the numbers, per FanGraphs. Cole's return, if it holds, makes it harder to beat. The rest of the story is still being written.