Not only are the Yankees sitting pretty with a 26-15 record, but they will soon add a former Cy Young award winner to their rotation. Gerrit Cole, who last pitched at the Big League level in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, is getting very close to his return. Below, we will look at exactly when Cole is expected to be back, and take a glance at Yankees betting odds.
When will Gerrit Cole return and be back in the Yankees rotation?
Cole underwent successful Tommy John surgery on March 11,2025, and is currently gearing up for his MLB return.
It typically takes pitchers 12-18 months to recover from Tommy John surgery. Cole is currently 14 months into his recovery.
The veteran righty made his fifth rehab start this past Sunday, working five innings and throwing 77 pitches for Double-A Somerset. He gave up two runs on four hits while striking out eight batters.
Cole is expected to make one or two more rehab starts before his return to the Big League club. His 2026 MLB debut could very well occur before the calendar turns to June. Here is a look at the most likely return dates for Cole.
- Sunday, May 24: Rays at Yankees
- Monday, May 25: Yankees at Royals
- Tuesday, May 26: Yankees at Royals
- Wednesday, May 27: Yankees at Royals
- Friday, May 29: Yankees at Athletics
- Saturday, May 30: Yankees at Athletics
- Sunday, May 31: Yankees at Athletics
- Tuesday, June 2: Guardians at Yankees
Most MLB teams prefer to have players returning from injury make their comebacks on a homestand, so the New York brass might opt to wait until the first week in June when the Yankees play six straight games in the Bronx.
Gerrit Cole odds
Despite the fact that Cole missed the entire month of April and will likely miss nearly all of May, he remains on the Fanatics Sportsbook AL Cy Young odds board. The Yankees hurler currently has a +15000 price to win. Cole opened the season with +10000 AL Cy Young odds.
In his 2023 Cy Young winning season, Cole made 33 starts and posted a 15-4 record with a 2.63 ERA.
In 2024, he made just 17 starts and finished with a 3.41 ERA. Cole missed the first two-and-a-half months of that season due to elbow nerve inflammation and edema.
Cole is currently rostered in 84 percent of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues.
Yankees odds
The Yankees have the second-best odds to win the World Series at Fanatics Sportsbook as they are +450 to win it all. New York is looking up at only the Dodgers (+225) on the odds board.
Aaron Boone’s club is +185 to win the American League.
The Yanks (26-15) are -380 to win the AL East despite the Rays (26-13) currently owning a slightly better record.
