New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that starting pitcher Gerrit Cole will make his season debut on Wednesday at home against the Baltimore Orioles, according to Talkin' Yanks.

Gerrit Cole has been out since Spring Training when an elbow injury surfaced. That injury sparked fear that he could potentially be out for the season, but testing revealed that it was not the worst case, and that he would be able to return during the regular season. Now, we know he has a return date set.

Cole is likely not fully stretched out after just three rehab outings, so he might not be able to throw a super high amount of pitches. It is still huge for the Yankees to have him back and pitching against the Orioles as the two teams battle for first place in the American League East.

At this point, Cole would likely be able to throw around 80 pitches, given that he threw 70 in his third and final rehab start. There will not be much more building up when it comes to pitch count for Cole after Wednesday's start. It is conceivable that 100 pitches are in play for Cole in the next couple of starts after his season debut.

Despite the fact that the Yankees' pitching staff has been great this season, this is still undoubtedly a huge development for the team and its chances this season.

Gerrit Cole aims to give Yankees a big boost in return

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole reacts after a strikeout during the third inning of a MLB rehab assignment with the Somerset Patriots against the Hartford Yard Goats at TD Bank Ballpark.
John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees have gotten great production on the whole from the rotation, with Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes, Clarke Schmidt and Cody Poteet making starts. Still, Cole brings another element to the staff. Luis Gil has been great, performing like and ace with swing and miss stuff, but the rest of the rotation and bullpen does not necessarily bring that.

Cole, coming off of a Cy Young award in 2023, is hoping that he can pick up where he left off last season. It was a disappointment that the Yankees wasted Cole's performance in 2023, but now they have a team that is capable of making a deep run. Having Cole at the front of the rotation is essential in October. He will also help the Yankees make a push down the stretch this season.

In most divisions, the Yankees would be running away in first, but the Orioles are right on their tail and seemingly will be battling to the end of the season to avoid the Wild Card round. Having a bye and skipping to the ALDS with home field advantage would be huge, especially when the division winner would potentially be facing the second place team. Cole will help the Yankees in that regard over the next few months.