TORONTO — As a recent beneficiary of the surgery named after Tommy John, Gerrit Cole joined in those remembering the former Yankees lefty who died Saturday night at the age of 83.
“I think the first thing that comes to mind is how much of a trailblazer he was and what great perseverance he had, venturing into the unknown with the surgery and really writing the book, writing the script for how to push through it and overcome it and ultimately have success afterwards,” Cole said Sunday after a 4-3 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
John, who was the first baseball player to undergo UCL surgery performed by Dr. Frank Jobe in 1974, came back to pitch in 405 games and 2,544 ²/₃ innings after the procedure, recording 164 of his 288 career wins with the new elbow.
Cole, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025, came back this year and has been sharp, posting a 3.22 ERA over his first 15 starts.
He marveled at John being the first to come back from the major surgery that is now ubiquitous across the league.
“What a blessing it is that we get to see these great players continue on such a great path, and it’s because of Tommy John and Dr. Jobe,” Cole said.
Both Cole and manager Aaron Boone said they thought John should be a Hall of Famer, and not just for the surgery in his name.
“I hope people remember how outstanding his career was and not just being named for the injury that obviously we know very well now,” said Boone, whose father Bob played with John on the 1982 Angels. “I can see his windup, one of my favorite windups to imitate. But a great career and a lasting legacy.”
With Carlos Rodón closing in on a return from the injured list, Ryan Weathers keeps bolstering his case to stick in the rotation.
The lefty was strong again Sunday, allowing just one run over 7 ¹/₃ innings while out-pitching Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease (6 ¹/₃ innings, two runs).
“You don’t go into it trying to outduel him, it’s just more you know you’re going to have to match zeroes,” Weathers said. “We were able to do that today.”
Weathers, who was helped out by two inning-ending double plays to escape jams, has recorded a 0.85 ERA over his last five starts, seemingly giving him the upper hand over Will Warren for who will remain in the rotation once Rodón returns.
Warren is scheduled to start Tuesday’s series opener against the Orioles, with Rodón also lined up to pitch that day.
Indications were that Rodón was likely to make another rehab start instead of pitching against the Orioles, though the club had not finalized that decision as of Sunday.
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Waiting to activate him had to do with him not being fully built up yet and also looking ahead to a doubleheader Aug. 29, when it would behoove the Yankees to have an extra arm stretched out like Warren to start one of those games.
Weathers’ strike throwing and efficiency Sunday allowed him to pitch into the eighth inning, which was especially important on a day when Boone was trying to stay away from relievers Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick because of workload concerns.
So after using David Bednar for five outs in relief of Weathers, Tim Hill pitched the bottom of the 10th and allowed just a bloop single that scored the automatic runner in his second save of the season.
“The lefty pocket was there for him,” Boone said. “He came in and threw the ball really well.”
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