Gerrit Cole looks like Cy Young pitcher as he checks off another box for Yankees return

TAMPA — He is 35 now, another year older, with some more facial hair, a slightly different windup and a surgically reconstructed ulnar collateral ligament.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

But Gerrit Cole stepped onto the bullpen mound Friday morning at Steinbrenner Field and, as much as one can over the course of two simulated innings without any hitters in the box, looked like Gerrit Cole.There is still a long way to go — in a best-case scenario, three months, with more hurdles to clear along the way — before Cole might take the mound in a big league game.But just over 11 months removed from undergoing Tommy John surgery and having the entirety of his 2025 season wiped out, the former AL Cy Young award winner gave the Yankees a tantalizing reminder of what could be waiting for them later this year.“He looked like a Cy Young pitcher,” catcher Austin Wells said.

“He looked smooth and in control.Looked confident in his ability.”Of course, it was just a bullpen session in February, one that checked another box on the way to potentially facing hitters in another week or two and possibly getting into a Grapefruit League game before camp ends.

In his conversations with the Yankees and the surgeon who repaired his elbow, Dr.Neal ElAttrache, the target return date has always been 14-18 months, Cole said, and that remains on track.He had the surgery last March 11, so 14 months would be May 11.And exactly what version of Cole the Yankees get once he does return to game action remains to be seen.

For some pitchers coming back from Tommy John, it takes a full season to get their stuff back and feel like themselves.For others, it comes quicker.Cole knows this and is not getting ahead of himself for what to expect this season.

But to this point, every step of the rehab process that he described as “long and tedious” has gone well, giving him and the ...