Cole takes another rehab step, but he’s not ready for a return

TORONTO — Gerrit Cole isn’t ready to get back on the mound just yet, but the injured ace planned on taking another step in his recovery from elbow inflammation on Wednesday.

Aaron Boone said that Cole was scheduled to play catch again on Wednesday after doing so on Tuesday. The right-hander had yet to throw on back-to-back days since getting sidelined midway through spring training.

Cole, who did not travel to Cleveland or Toronto with the Yankees, threw up to 75 feet on Tuesday. Boone said that the reigning American League Cy Young winner planned to throw four times this week and four or five times next week.

However, it’s not yet clear when Cole will get back on a mound, the next significant step on his to-do list.

“I don’t know that,” Boone said. “They have it sort of mapped out, but I know he’d still have to go through his catch play all next week where hopefully you get four or five days and further distance. Then you start graduating to the mound.”

The Yankees have said that Cole will need to go through a full spring training-type routine before being activated, so the pace of his rehab plans is not surprising. Cole is on the 60-day injured list, so he can’t return until May 27 anyway.

Cole began playing catch on April 8, when he made 25 throws at Yankee Stadium and reached 71 mph on the radar gun.

Kahnle update: Boone added that Tommy Kahnle threw a bullpen on Tuesday.

The right-handed reliever will throw one or two more bullpens before facing live hitters. Boone didn’t have exact timelines for those sessions.

Kahnle’s throwing program had been delayed multiple times since spring training began after his 2023 season ended with shoulder inflammation.