Gerrit Cole rehabs for swift return to Yankees’ rotation.

Gerrit Cole is taking one more step closer to returning to a big-league mound at Yankee Stadium.

The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner and Yankees ace begins a rehab assignment with the organization’s Double-A affiliate in Somerset on Tuesday, the team announced.

The 33-year-old right-hander was slated to throw 50 pitches in his first competitive start of 2024. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he expects Cole to need at least two rehab starts in the minors before he gets the green light to rejoin the big-league club.

“I try not to get ahead of myself with it,” Boone said (h/t YES Network). “Let’s just keep checking boxes, keep moving the needle. Ever since he got shut down, I feel like it’s moved in a good direction the whole way. It’s just about continuing to move toward that point.”

Cole was suffering from right elbow inflammation and edema that forced the Yankees to shut him down during spring training. He resumed throwing off a mound on May 4 and threw a 43-pitch live batting practice session on Thursday at team facilities in Tampa, FL.

The initial news of Cole’s long-term absence appeared to be an insurmountable blow to the Yankees, whose pitching staff was largely unproven outside of the veteran, who went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA last season.

Luis Gil helped cushion the blow of Cole’s absence with a Rookie of the Year and Cy Young-worthy start to the 2024 campaign. New York’s rotation, however, just lost Clarke Schmidt to a lat strain and while Cody Poteet picked up a victory as a spot starter on Saturday, Cole would obviously help stabilize the starting five.