Gerrit Cole played catch Friday, manager Aaron Boone said, but the next real test for the right-hander is expected to come Saturday, when the Yankees ace is set to throw off a mound for the first time since he was shut down with elbow inflammation in March.
“It’s a step,’’ Boone said Friday before the Yankees opened a series against the Tigers in The Bronx. “[The rehab has] gone well so far. The buildup and different levels of throwing, so far so good. [Throwing] off the mound is another step.”
As has been the case throughout Cole’s rehab, the Yankees have declined to put a timeline on when he could make his season debut, but a starting pitcher typically needs six to eight weeks to build up during spring training and that figures to be the case with Cole, since he’s been sidelined for so long.
And as Boone acknowledged, most starters enter camp having already been on a throwing program, which Cole is only just beginning.
The earliest Cole would be eligible to be activated off the 60-day injured list is May 27, but mid-June or July seems a more reasonable timeline.
The Yankees have so far survived Cole’s absence quite well.
Their rotation entered Friday’s 2-1 win over the Tigers eighth in the majors in ERA (3.48) and fourth in innings pitched.
Jon Berti, who last played for the Yankees on April 10, could return to the lineup on Saturday from a left groin strain, according to Boone.
He finished a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Thursday and worked out at the Stadium on Friday.
“Got some at-bats and my timing back, so hopefully that translates here,’’ Berti said.
Boone said he plans on using Berti not just at third base, where he’s played all six of his games as a Yankee, but potentially as a fill-in at shortstop or in the outfield.
“He’s coming off a really strong year,’’ Boone said of Berti, acquired from the Marlins in March as part of a three-team trade with Tampa Bay in which the Yankees sent Ben Rortvedt to the Rays and minor league outfielder John Cruz to Miami.
“[Berti] brings some speed to the game and a real defensive versatility that’s always welcome,’’ Boone said. “He’ll play.”
Without Berti, Oswaldo Cabrera has been the regular third baseman and after a strong start to the season, has been one of several Yankees who have gone into a rut.
He entered Friday just 9-for-49 in his previous 13 games with an OPS of .461 in that span.
Cabrera’s went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Friday’s victory.
And DJ LeMahieu (foot) did some baseball activities at the Stadium on Friday, but Boone noted that he hasn’t begun hitting yet since suffering a setback in his recovery.
Since LeMahieu has been out all season, except for an abbreviated rehab appearance nearly two weeks ago, Boone said it’s unclear how many rehab games he will need before he makes his season debut.
A pair of right-handers are trending toward returning to the bullpen, with Nick Burdi (hip) set to pitch in a rehab game for Somerset on Sunday and Tommy Kahnle (shoulder inflammation) in line to face live hitters over the weekend, with a rehab stint to begin as soon as next week.
