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New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole delivers a pitch. Yankees manager Aaron Boone shares a concerning update on his injury return timeline.

Aaron Boone signaled concern about Gerrit Cole’s return timeline Thursday, indicating the Yankees ace may not be as close as expected. New York is 16-9 and sitting atop the AL East, with a rotation that manager Aaron Boone has called the best in baseball. But the man they built that rotation around, 2023 Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, appears further from returning than the team previously let on. Boone made that clear Thursday with a single sentence that caught Yankees fans off guard.

Asked how close Cole and left-hander Carlos Rodón are to rejoining the big-league club, Boone drew an unmistakable line.

“I anticipate Carlos being closer, though,” Boone told reporters, as captured by the YES Network.

That subtle shift with Carlos Rodón now viewed as closer quietly changed the Yankees’ entire short-term outlook. Rodón has not thrown a single competitive pitch in 2026. Cole, meanwhile, completed his second minor-league rehab outing Thursday night. On paper, Cole appeared to be the one pulling ahead. Boone’s unexpected remark suggested otherwise.

Cole’s Second Rehab Start: The Numbers

Cole took the mound Thursday for Class-A Hudson Valley against the Brooklyn Cyclones in Fishkill, New York. He worked 4 1/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Of his 52 pitches, 42 went for strikes. A solo home run in the fourth inning off the bat of Corey Collins and a fifth-inning sacrifice fly from Diego Mosquera, following a Yohairo Cuevas leadoff double, accounted for all the damage.

Cole offered two assessments after the outing, as quoted by ESPN.

“Felt good. Got into the fifth again and threw all my pitches, so a good night,” Cole said. And then he offered an assessment of his surgically repaired elbow.

“It’s responding well to all the new stimulus and so we keep plugging away,” the 35-year-old six-time All-Star said.

His first rehab outing came the previous Friday at Double-A Somerset against Reading, where Cole allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings on three hits, including a two-run homer. He walked one and struck out three on 44 pitches. The incrementally building workloads reflect the post-Tommy John progression the Yankees have mapped out for their ace.

Cole’s last official appearance before his rehab stint was Game 5 of the 2024 World Series on Oct. 30. Reconstructive elbow surgery followed on March 11, 2025, wiping out his entire season. He is signed through 2028 on a nine-year, $324 million contract.

What Boone’s Comments Mean for Cole and the Yankees

Rodón is scheduled to make his 2026 debut Friday in a rehab start, also against Brooklyn. The 33-year-old left-hander underwent surgery Oct. 15 to remove loose bodies from his left elbow and shave a bone spur. He then coped with a tight right hamstring that slowed his spring rehab. Nonetheless, Boone believes the three-time All-Star gets back to the Bronx first.

The 15-day injured list clock on Cole has been running since March 25. The Yankees hold the option to extend his rehab window to 30 days, and Pinstripes Nation reported the organization is expected to use most or all of that time before activating him. Mid-May is the realistic floor.

Cole’s career totals of 153 wins, a 3.18 ERA, and 2,251 strikeouts across 317 starts underscore exactly why the timeline matters. New York’s rotation has held together behind Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Ryan Weathers and Luis Gil. But Cole’s return, whenever it arrives, projects to elevate an already formidable group into a different tier entirely, assuming the elbow keeps responding the way he says it is.