Gerrit Cole Injury Update: Yankees ace to face live hitters for first time as he makes major step toward MLB return

The New York Yankees have received a positive update regarding the injury to superstar Gerrit Cole. The 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner has yet to appear for the Bronx Bombers after suffering nerve irritation and edema in his throwing elbow in March. The injury led to his placement on the IL soon after.

"Gerrit Cole will face hitters tomorrow for the first time since being shut down according to @M_Marakovits LETS GO!" - @FiresideYankees

The team announced that Gerrit Cole will throw to live batters on Tuesday. This will be the first time that the New York Yankees ace will face live batters since sustaining the injury. Although there has been no timeline yet for Cole, it may not be long before he's sent out on a rehab assignment if he doesn't suffer any setbacks.

The New York Yankees have enjoyed some excellent performances from their pitching this season, which makes the impending return of Cole even more exciting.

It remains to be seen when Cole will be activated from the IL, but his return to the pitching rotation could be massive for the team as they look to push for their first World Series title since 2009.

"Yankees players, staff and former players congratulate Gerrit Cole on his Cy Young Award" - @TalkinYanks

Gerrit Cole was incredible last season for the Bronx Bombers, securing the first Cy Young Award of his career.

Throughout an American League-leading 209.0 innings, he posted an impressive 2.63 ERA with 222 strikeouts and a 0.981 WHIP. Adding a player of that caliber to any team could put them over the top.

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Gerrit Cole is not the only Yankees player eyeing a return

The fact that Cole has taken a major step forward on his road to recovery is massive news for the club, but he's not the only star eyeing their activation from the IL. The New York Yankees have many players making progress in their own recovery phases.

DJ LeMahieu, Tommy Kahnle and Jasson Dominguez have all made significant strides toward returning to the lineup. Dominguez has already begun a minor league rehab assignment, whereas Kahnle is expected to be activated from the IL at some point this week.

When it comes to DJ LeMahieu, he has also already started his minor league rehab assignment as well. The star is expected to play several minor league games this week before potentially being activated from the IL next week.