Reigning AL Cy Young award winner is cro sing a major milestone as he prepares to return to the big leagues this week, as manager told reporters (including ) that the veteran ace will begin a rehab a signment with Double-A Somerset on Tuesday. On the heels of a dominant 2023 campaign where he pitched to a 2.63 ERA and 3.16 FIP in 33 starts on a Yankees team that largely struggled, the veteran right-hander appeared poised to once again Nick Fotiu Jersey contend for the AL Cy Young award at the front of the clubs rotation this year. Unfortunately, those plans were scuttled by a bout of elbow inflammation Cole suffered early in Spring Training. That diagnosis led to some early concern that Cole could be faced with surgery, though a with noted surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache confirmed that the veteran would be able to avoid surgery. Hes been rehabbing with an eye toward returning prior to the All Star break since then, and todays news puts him one step closer to that goal. Its delightful news for the Yankees, who entered the season with plenty of question marks in their rotation thanks in no small part to Cole being sidelined. Fortunately for fans in the Bronx, those questions have generally been answered with strong performance: the clubs rotation ERA of 2.73 ranks second only to the Phillies among all major league clubs thanks to bounceback campaigns from lefties and , quality performances from youngsters and , as well as the stable veteran presence of . The rotation has been so effective to this point in the season that it actually raised the question of which of the clubs standout performers would be moved to the bullpen to accommodate Cole upon his eventual return. That question was ultimately answered organically when Schmidt found himself by a strained lat last week. Schmidts injury has put renewed focus on Coles rehab proce s, and a suming all goes well it appears the club should have their ace back into the fold at the major league level in relatively short order. Given the fact that Cole made just one two-inning appearance during Spring Training this year, hell need plenty of time to build up to full strength before he returns to the big league mound. Even so, the right-hander could make several rehab starts over the coming weeks and still return to the big league Yankees before the end of the month as long as he avoids any setbacks. Looking ahead, Cole will join a Yankees team that has taken control of the AL East with a 41-19 record that puts them two games ahead of the Orioles for first place in the division. That jump back into contention after a difficult 2023 season has come thanks to excellent performances from not only the starting rotation but also the clubs superstar outfield duo of and . Now, the Yankees have the return of a third superstar to their roster to look forward to in the coming weeks in the form of Cole. Looking ahead to the offseason, the 33-year-old will have the opportunity to opt out of the remaining four years and $144MM on his contract with the Yankees this winter. In the event that Cole decides to exercise that opt-out, the Yankees will have the opportunity to void it by tacking an addition year and $36MM to the end of his deal with the club, effectively bumping the remaining money on the deal to $180MM over five years. Coles agent, Scott Boras, the upcoming opt-out back in December and indicated at the time that he expects both Cole to opt out of his end of the deal and the Yankees to void that decision by tacking on the aforementioned extra year. Of course, that was before the right-handers elbow i sues cropped up during Spring Training, and its at least po sible that a tough season for Cole upon his return could lead either side to change their stance on the matter. For his part, Yankees chairman Hal Steinbrenner recently indicated to reporters that he does not consider the clubs current payroll level to be though its unclear if that opinion would impact the clubs decision-making in the event that Cole opts out this winter. NHL New York Rangers Jersey