New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: The day after finding out Gerrit Cole is headed to Double-A to begin his rehab assignment, we got some details. Cole’s pitch count is expected to be in the mid-40s and the Yankees plan to build him to a “higher threshold” during his rehab then be conservative with him once he returns to the major leagues — so don’t expect to see Cole back in pinstripes after only a few rehab starts. He’ll make several but that kind of timeline dovetails nicely with the end of May
or so. The Cole Train could be approaching the station soon.
MLB | Rhett Bollinger: Kids these days don’t understand how incredible Peak Mike Trout was. Or, before this week’s series at Yankee Stadium, they didn’t. The future Hall of Famer, whose career arc was derailed by injury, was absolutely in his bag against the Yanks: five home runs in four games, at least one in each. After he homered in his last game at Yankee Stadium last season, he’s now only the second player to homer in five straight games at the Stadium (joining Aaron Judge, who put his own power on display this week). He also joins George Bell, Darrell Evans, and Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx as the only players who’ve ever clubbed five round-trippers in a single series against New York. Good work. Now go away.
NJ.com: YES broadcaster Michael Kay is dissatisfied with the Yankees’ handling of Ben Rice in the early part of 2026. He decried what seems like a platoon arrangement at first base, pointing out that it’s depriving the club of one of its best bats. He’s also not convinced by the late game pinch-hitter argument. But Kay is no mere angry fan. He brings a possible solution with his complaint: get Rice ready to don the tools of ignorance. Having Rice backup Austin Wells would allow Paul Goldschmidt to start at first base against lefties while keeping Rice’s bat in the lineup.
The Athletic | Eno Sarris ($): This is perhaps not the most opportune time for this article to come out, considering Max Fried’s ugly start Thursday against the Angels. But we have a new set of Sarris’ pitcher rankings. All four Yankee starters appear, with two in the top 20. Fried lands at #6, with Sarris highlighting his pitch mix, velocity, and command. Cam Schlittler meanwhile, comes in at #20. Sarris’ Stuff+ model has been sold on Cam since last season and Sarris wraps up his thoughts on Schlitter with “Put the bubble wrap on him, this kid’s arm is golden.”
