Gerrit Cole shared a heartfelt moment with one of his biggest fans biggest postgame.
The Yankees ace sweetly embraced son Caden on Sunday after completing his second rehab assignment for the Double-A Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark, a 4-2 win against the Hartford Yard Goats in Bridgewater, N.J.
In a photo shared by Cole’s wife Amy on her Instagram Story, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner kisses the cheek of his 3-year-old son, who rocked a miniature version of his dad’s Yankees uniform.
Cole put up another quality start for the Patriots on Sunday, allowing only two hits and one earned run with four strikeouts and zero walks across 4 2/3 innings.
“Second rehab start, pretty good day, still got things to work on,” Cole said. “For back-to-back [starts], I felt pretty good. Wish I would’ve been able to crisp up the location quicker. Really, that was about it.”
Of his 57 pitches, 44 were strikes and he consistently clocked mid-90s fastballs.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Amy — who recently snagged a foul ball in Cole’s first minor league rehab appearance — captured a photo of Caden taking in his dad’s game from the stands.
Cole and Amy, a former softball player, exchanged vows in 2016 after meeting at UCLA.
The couple welcomed Caden in 2020, followed by son Everett in January 2023.
Although the Yankees have not yet established a specific number of rehab stats for Cole, manager Aaron Boone mentioned Saturday that they may consider bringing him back before he’s fully built up to 100 pitches.
“I think that’s possible that he doesn’t come to us at, call it 100 pitches or whatever,” Boone told reporters. “What that point is, I don’t know. That hasn’t been decided yet. Gerrit will have a big say in that as well.”
Cole, who signed with the Yankees on a nine-year, $324 million deal in late 2019, is still looking to sharpen his game and raise his pitch count before joining the team this season.
“I want to feel confident that if I get into some sort of a jam and have to run 25-30 pitches out, that we are still in a good spot to keep going after that,” Cole said. “The team has played so well. I want to make sure I’m in a good position to play well. Certainly I’m always up for a challenge, but it’s a group decision in that regard. Just take all the information that we have and try to see when the best time is to pull the trigger.”
The Yankees improved to 46-21 with a 6-4 win over the Dodgers on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
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