CBS News | RotoWire: Yankees ace Gerrit Cole completed a 35-pitch live batting practice session on Thursday. Per the YES Network’s Jack Curry, the pitcher and the team will likely discuss the possibility of him pitching in a Grapefruit League game. He will throw again in six days, so there’s a chance he makes a spring appearance for the Yanks sometime in the next week or two. The right-hander continues to trend in the right direction and should be able to make his season debut in late April or early
May, barring any setbacks, but if the team opts to utilize the 60-day IL then Cole will be set back until late May.
NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller: The Yankees reassigned three rookies to minor league camp on Thursday. The highest-profile name was, of course, George Lombard Jr., who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the afternoon game against the Detroit Tigers to drop his Grapefruit League batting average to .185. There is an outside chance Lombard makes enough strides to see major league time this year, but he will have to earn it. He is ready for The Show defensively, but needs some more time to reach his offensive potential.
Earlier on Thursday, the Yankees announced the same fate for pitching prospects Ben Hess and Brendan Beck. The former left with a 1.80 ERA in five innings with six strikeouts, while the latter posted a 9.00 ERA in three Grapefruit League innings, but recently tossed four hitless frames for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic.
NY Post | Matt Ehalt: Aaron Judge keeps breaking records and making history even when he isn’t on the field. That’s right: according to Fanatics Collect, a 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Superfractor signed Judge card was sold for a record $5.2 million. It was, per reports, a unique piece for card collectors. It’s significantly more than the previous high for a modern-day card, a Mike Trout single-edition signed 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospect Superfractor.
