What the Yankees' Recent Call-Up Means For Gerrit Cole

The New York Yankees made a surprising roster move on Monday.

The Yankees are calling up hard-throwing relief pitcher Yovanny Cruz and optioning starter Elmer Rodriguez back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Cruz will bring high velocity to a shaky Yankee bullpen, touching 102 mph on his fastball in the minor leagues. His four-seamer averages 99.2 mph and he also throws an upper 80s slider.

Cruz, 26, has a 3.00 ERA, 29.1 percent strikeout rate and a 52.3 percent ground ball rate in Triple-A this season. He has also struggled with his command at times, issuing nine walks and hitting three batters.

Cruz is the Yankees' No. 28 ranked prospect.

So why was this move such a surprise?

Well, the Yankees and manager Aaron Boone had previously stated that Rodriguez would get one more start in the majors and ace Gerrit Cole would make one more minor league rehab start before rejoining the club.

But with Rodriguez getting sent down, the Yankees are now discussing the possibility of activating Cole to make his next start in the major leagues, as Boone told reporters.

The Yankees are discussing having Gerrit Cole return to the rotation instead of making his final Minor League start, but that hasn't been set yet. "We're talking through everything," Aaron Boone said.

— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) May 18, 2026

Cole missed all of the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2025. He also missed the first two and a half months of the 2024 campaign due to nerve irritation and edema in the same right elbow.

Now, it sounds like the Yankees are close to getting Cole back. His return would come at an ideal time after the team recently lost Max Fried to the 15-day IL with a bone bruise in his left elbow.

The Yankees just lost two of three games to the lowly cross-town rival New York Mets. They have lost seven of their last nine games, but are still 28-19 on the season and three games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.

New York will face the Toronto Blue Jays and Rays on a seven-game homestand beginning on Monday night.

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 1:54 PM.