TAMPA, Fla. — Gerrit Cole threw a 25-pitch bullpen in a pinstriped, No. 45 uniform Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
After signing a record nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees this winter, Cole completed his first official bullpen session the day pitchers and catchers were required to report to spring training. Manager Aaron Boone, third-base coach Phil Nevin, pitching coach Matt Blake and others were in the bullpen to get a look at their new ace.
“A really good day. Good for him to get here and to see him put on the pinstripes and get out there,” Boone said of Cole, who pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2013-17. “To see him confirming all those things we saw from him this winter when we got to meet with him.
“Just how specific he is about everything he’s doing and just that understanding of every pitch he makes, what it’s doing, what it needs to look like. His mechanics that are involved with it. His attention to detail is special, so it was a good first day for him to get out there and get on the mound in a good uniform.”
Cole is scheduled to speak to the media for the first time Thursday afternoon, when he likely will face questions about his former team. The Astros were found to have been electronically stealing opposing catchers’ signs and relaying them in real-time to hitters in the box beginning in 2017. Cole, who was traded to the Astros before the 2018 season, previously said he was not interviewed by MLB and he was unaware of the system.
While several Yankees who lost to the Astros in the 2017 and ‘19 American League Championship Series expressed their disgruntled feeling toward the Astros this spring, Cole was welcomed into the fold.
Gary Sanchez caught for Cole on Wednesday and is excited about what he brings.
“I mean, we just added one of the best pitchers in the game,” the Yankees starting catcher said. “We had a really good rotation, that’s what I believe then, and now we have the opportunity to add Gerrit Cole.
“It’s great. I mean, if you look at what he has done the past couple years has been incredibly impressive. So to have someone like that now on our team, it just gets better.”
