Yankees' Gerrit Cole 'Feeling Good' amid Elbow Injury Rehab; Return Date Still TBD

Star pitcher Gerrit Cole is one step closer to returning for the New York Yankees after throwing 70 pitches for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday in his latest minor league rehab start.

"I'm obviously feeling good today," he told reporters on Saturday. "Last night was a good night."

Cole, 33, has yet to pitch for the Yankees this season as he recovers from nerve inflammation and edema, diagnosed in March. It's possible his next start could be at the MLB level after he completed his third rehab start on Friday, though a return date remains undetermined.

"It feels like it's coming together," he told reporters. "Regardless, I don't anticipate coming back with a 100 pitches, so there's a ways to go. The closer and closer you get, the more excited you get."

That goes for the Yankees, too, who have surprisingly gotten elite pitching from the rotation despite being without the defending AL Cy Young winner. The team's 2.88 ERA leads the American League and is a huge reason why the Yanks hold a 50-22 record, currently the best mark in baseball.

With Clarke Schmidt on the 15-day injured list due to a lat issue, however, getting Cole back will be huge for the Yankees.

The ace looked like he was getting his elite stuff back on Friday, striking out 10 batters over 4.1 innings while allowing just two hits and an unearned run. Granted, it isn't against MLB hitters, but it was still a promising sign.

"I want to look at the computer, too, it usually takes a day to process all the numbers and stuff, so I think probably a conversation will happen when we get that information," he told reporters when asked if he thought his next start would be in the big leagues. "My eyes said it was pretty good. I'm assuming it was really good."