The New York Yankees are looking to get some key help back this season, as Gerrit Cole missed 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. It seems as if Cole is progressing well, and the pitcher has started to throw again, which is good news. What's even better news is that he recently faced live hitters, according to Gary Phillips of the NY Daily News Sports.

“This will be the first time Gerrit Cole faces hitters in his TJS rehab. He's on the schedule for an inning. He's scheduled to face a live BP group of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton, Jasson Domínguez and Trent Grisham, Phillips wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

This will be a good test to see where Cole is as far as his progress, and the hope is that he makes some good strides. He recently spoke about the rehab process and how he's been handling it.

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“The work during this rehab process is different than what I typically would be doing when healthy,” Cole said via  MLB.com. “Yet I’ve attacked the process the same way, and that has produced good results. It just gives me confidence that I go about my business the right way.”

Cole was huge for the Yankees in 2024 and helped them get to the World Series. That's the player that the Yankees want to get back, and it looks as if he could be getting back on the mound sooner rather than later.

The Yankees will probably continue to put him through tests to see how he feels, and the hope is that he doesn't have any setbacks.