Gerrit Cole will start Monday after bout with COVID-19
Gerrit Cole #45 of the Yankees walks on the field at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, July 1, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. A game against the Los Angeles Angels was postponed due to the weather. Credit: Jim McIsaac
CHICAGO — Gerrit Cole declared himself completely over his bout with COVID-19 and "ready to go," and he’ll start for the Yankees on Monday night in a makeup game against the Angels at the Stadium, Aaron Boone said Sunday morning.
"I’m ready to pitch," Cole said.
Cole and Jordan Montgomery were placed on the COVID injured list Aug. 3. Boone said Montgomery is likely to start one of Tuesday’s doubleheader games against the Red Sox.
Cole, who said he "had no idea where I got it," described the level to which he was affected by the virus. "I’d probably characterize it as mild symptoms," he said. "But I had the full gamut of pretty much everything [loss of taste, fever, etc.], minus the puking."
The righthander said he lost "a little bit" of weight, but nothing like the 18 pounds reliever Zack Britton lost during his bout with COVID-19 in January.
Cole enters Monday’s start 10-6 with a 3.11 ERA but 4-4 with a 4.68 ERA since June 3, around the time news broke of Major League Baseball’s intent to enforce its own rules regarding the application of sticky substances to baseballs.
Cole has said since early June, without specifying, that there were "adjustments" he would have to make. There certainly have been starts — such as his three-hit gem July 10 in Houston before the All-Star break — in which he looked like the dominant pitcher he was the first two months of the season.
Cole has been impressed with how the Yankees, who are 24-11 since their 41-41 start, have persevered as the injuries and COVID cases have mounted in that period.
"We’re just looking for the final piece to push it over the edge and really get white-hot here," he said. "But we’ve had a good next-man-up mentality.
We’ve been playing a good brand of baseball and we keep winning series."
Latest on Gary, Sevy
Gary Sanchez, on the COVID IL since Aug. 5, began a rehab assignment Sunday with Double-A Somerset. "[He’ll] probably be with us tomorrow working out [and could] potentially be in play for us in one of the Tuesday games," Boone said.
The Yankees also returned Luis Severino from his rehab assignment. He was scratched from his rehab start this past Friday because of shoulder tightness and will have an MRI on Monday.
Rizzo improving
Boone said Anthony Rizzo, on the COVID IL since Aug. 8, was "feeling a lot better [Sunday]" and "potentially" could be cleared to begin working out with the club before Monday’s game, though he still is not quite ready to be activated.
