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On Friday, New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was seen throwing a bullpen session at Tropicana Field. This was ahead of the weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
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Cole had his first bullpen session last Saturday. He threw 15 fastballs with an average velocity of about 89mph. During his third bullpen session at Tropicana Field on Saturday, he threw about 29 pitches at a top speed of about 89 mph. According to Cole, this was a "pretty good" bullpen session.
In March, during spring training, the 33-year-old began to feel some pain in his throwing elbow, and he has been out this season ever since. He was put on the 60-day injured list as soon as it was found out that he had nerve inflammation and swelling. Some tests were conducted to see if he would need surgery, but fortunately, that wasn't the case.
Last season, Cole had an ERA of 2.63 and 222 strikeouts in 209 innings (33 starts). He also had a WHIP of 0.98. This was the same season he was awarded the Cy Young Award.
The news of Cole's bullpen session has sent a wave of optimism through the Yankees fanbase. He will have another bullpen session next week and will be in Tampa Bay for now.
Gerrit Cole mentoring teammates
Gerrit Cole might be sidelined with an elbow injury, but his leadership isn't on the IL. Despite missing games, Cole has emerged as a mentor to younger pitchers.
During his bullpen session on Friday, he was seen mentoring his teammate Luis Gil, where he explained his pitching techniques.
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake was observing the conversation between Gil and Cole.
“Gerrit was looking at Luis’ delivery and how to use the secondary pitches and keep the secondary pitches competitive,” Blake said (via NJ.com). “There was something related to delivery that we’ve talked about a little bit, too, so Gerrit was just giving Luis feedback in the moment, which is helpful.”
Spanish interpreter Marlon Abreu explained Cole’s techniques so Gil could understand more easily.
