Yanks' Cole on TJ surgery: 'Starts out really dark'

NEW YORK -- While the New York Yankees play the 2025 season without him, Gerrit Cole's mind is on clearing checkpoints in his recovery from Tommy John surgery last month.

Two-and-a-half weeks ago marked a milestone: Removing the brace protecting his right elbow. The next major one comes in August when he plans on throwing a baseball again, commencing a throwing program he hopes will continue into the 2026 season without a hitch.

"It starts out really dark," Cole said, speaking to reporters for the first time since the surgery. "And then you work your way closer to the end of the tunnel."

The plan is for Cole to reach that light, and pitch in major-league games again, 14 months after the surgery. That timeline places Cole's return in mid-May of next year.

"The only thought I've given to 2026 is just to try to execute the first eight weeks so far of this rehab," Cole, 34, said. "Like you're growing bone and stuff so it's been important to get good sleep and eat well and progress through the rehab.

"I hope it comes back maybe like a fresh new set of tires. That's best hope. Just a pit stop that took a little longer than we had hoped for. But I really don't know. Who's to say? People are fairly confident. I'm a bit pragmatic, though."

Cole's ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction included an internal brace, a measure taken to fortify the elbow to reduce the chance of re-injuring the ligament in the first year back. Cole said the injury didn't happen on one pitch; he described it as a chronic circumstance. He knew something was wrong when he couldn't bend his elbow the next day after a Grapefruit League start.

The injury surfaced nearly a year to the day after Cole was shut down with inflammation and edema in his right elbow, which pushed his season debut to June. Cole, coming off winning his first Cy Young Award, was brilliant at times and pitched through October, making 22 starts between the regular season and postseason. But he acknowledged the injury, his first elbow issue after 11 big-league seasons without one, could have been a precursor to recruiting a UCL reconstruction.

"Well, I mean, maybe, yeah," Cole said. "I feel like if you're a pitcher, you might need it, period, the way it's going. But I would say there are two individual circumstances, but my elbow's just getting older. So, probably to a certain extent, yes."

Cole said he's reported to Yankee Stadium six days a week since this season started for rehab sessions that range from about 90 minutes to two hours. He's stayed for games, but he preferred to remain in the clubhouse and out of the way as a precaution. Now, after reaching the eight-week checkpoint, he expects to be around the team more, dishing out advice when he can.

"These guys make it easy," Cole said. "They let me know they want me around all time. And they are giving me a lot of encouraging thoughts."