Gerrit Cole’s return took a sharp turn Wednesday night. The Yankees ace took his first loss since coming back from Tommy John surgery after the Guardians hit three home runs against him, a reminder that even a promising comeback can get dented fast in one bad inning or one bad pitch.
What makes the loss worth watching is that Cole did not look like a pitcher losing his stuff. He is still throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s, and his curveball is still curving, which is why the night landed as a setback rather than a warning sign. Before Wednesday, he had thrown two starts of at least six scoreless innings, and the early signs had pointed to a pitcher who could still miss bats and still overpower hitters.
That is the version of Cole the Yankees have built around for years. They signed him to a nine-year, $324 million contract before the 2020 season, a deal that now has only two and a half years left. He turns 36 in September, and the number that matters most around him now is no longer the radar gun but the calendar. The club is paying for an ace whose value has always come from the same place: he takes the mound, he works deep into games, and more often than not he gives the team a chance to win.
The durability is part of why this start stands out. Cole made 19 starts in his rookie season and 17 in 2024, after elbow inflammation cost him the first two and a half months of that year. Between those seasons, he made at least 20 starts in every 162-game campaign and missed a total of four starts in the previous seven years before the elbow problem arrived. He has also finished with an ERA of 3.50 or better every season since leaving Pittsburgh, a run that explains why one rough night does not erase the larger body of work.
Still, the friction is obvious. Cole can look healthy, throw hard and spin the curveball, and still end up leaving the mound after allowing three home runs. That is what makes this comeback feel less like a victory lap than a test of how much he can still absorb as the seasons come off the contract. He was the top pick in his draft class in 2011 and is third in career WAR among players drafted and signed that year, behind Francisco Lindor and Mookie Betts, which is another way of saying the standard has always been high.
The next question is not whether Cole can still pitch. Wednesday answered that. It is how long he can keep doing it at this level while the Yankees count down the final two and a half years of one of baseball’s biggest contracts. For now, the comeback is intact. The margin for error, though, just got a lot thinner.
