Rodón moves to Triple-A rehab, Cole advances to High-A for Yankees returns

Carlos Rodón’s rehab climbing from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is the clearest sign yet the Yankees are treating his return like a near-big-league assignment. Gerrit Cole’s path is one level lower at High-A Hudson Valley, and the split tracks tell you exactly where each starter stands: Rodón is getting tested against the highest minor league competition left, while Cole is still in the long build back from Tommy John surgery.

Rodón’s first rehab outing with Hudson Valley on April 24 gave the Yankees the kind of line they wanted to see before pushing him again. He worked 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed one hit, struck out four and walked one, with 43 of 65 pitches going for strikes. That followed a late-March setback in Florida, when he felt right hamstring tightness while throwing, and came after left elbow surgery on October 15, 2025, when loose bodies were removed and a bone spur was shaved down. The next step at Scranton should answer the real question now: can Rodón handle a longer outing against more advanced hitters and keep the strike-throwing that has carried this rehab forward?

Cole’s line is less polished, but the Yankees have known that from the start. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2025, made his first rehab start with Somerset on April 18, then moved to Hudson Valley for his next turn. In his latest outing on April 23 against Winston-Salem, Cole allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out four over 4 1/3 innings, throwing 69 pitches with 49 strikes. Aaron Boone said Cole remains “a little bit of a ways away,” and the club has been pointing toward a late May or early June return. For Cole, the benchmarks are simpler and more physical than stylistic: hold the workload, keep the arm bouncing back, and start turning those pitch counts into cleaner innings.

The back-to-back rehab starts at Heritage Financial Park drew a crowd that showed how much these two matter beyond the box score. The combined attendance for Rodón and Cole was 8,440, including 4,712 on April 23, the largest April crowd for a Renegades game at the ballpark. The renovated park, which completed upgrades in 2024, gave both pitchers new clubhouse, locker-room, training-room, weight-room and lounge space, plus a resurfaced turf field, a new outfield wall and batter’s eye, and the WMCHealth Club Lounge.

Rodón went 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 33 starts last season, and Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner, remains the rotation anchor the Yankees have been waiting to regain. Scranton is now the proving ground that matters most for Rodón, and Hudson Valley is the checkpoint Cole still has to clear.