The Yankees are poised to get even better with the return of Gerrit Cole

Jon Heyman

MLB

By Jon Heyman

BOSTON — A jubilant Gerrit Cole returned from his tune-up in Rochester with 10 strikeouts and 4 ²/₃ innings and enthusiastically told us he would “definitely” be back in the big leagues soon. This must be a very scary proposition for the rest of the American League.

The Yankees establish themselves as World Series favorites through 73 games, and for them to do so without MLB’s best pitcher is a wonder. This won’t be the case for much longer. Cole looked ready and his stat line for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre screamed ready.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone hasn’t really committed to inserting Cole directly into the rotation, although doing anything else now seems too prudent. No one needed to say a word anyway. Cole’s bouncy attitude and dominating performance tell you he’s at least close to doing it.
It’s tough for the rest of the league. For Boone, the only negative is probably having the unenviable task of telling unknown but ultra-effective Cody Poteet – whose only thing in common with Cole is that they are both former UCLA Bruins – that he will have to leave the rotation.

Yes, the team that began spring training with a rotation that looked dangerously thin now has walk-ons, not even counting the estimable and ever-confident Clarke Schmidt, who will be waiting in the wings in a few weeks. The only staff that posted an ERA below 3.00 (2.88 Saturday) will soon make a pre-deadline acquisition to surpass them all.

The Yankees took a day off from their schedule domination in Game 2 of the season opener against the rival Red Sox. They lost an 8-4 game Saturday night, thanks to largely resurrected star Carlos Rodon giving up five quick points before finding his rhythm. But there is no doubt about the class of the junior circuit for 45 percent of the schedule.

The Yankees aren’t celebrating yet, of course. They’re too smart for that. But in reality, they are getting better week by week. They are 13-4 in their last 17 years, 17-6 in their last 23 years, 24-8 in their last 32 years and 30-10 in their last 40 years.

They talk like they don’t want to hurt him. But they know it. They must know.

“These guys played some exceptional baseball to start the season. But we know that’s it: It’s the start of the season,” Boone said. “We have a long way to go.”

That’s fair enough, but their popularity is at such a level that their fans were easily heard here at Fenway, or what the operators of this former facility modestly call “America’s Most Beloved Baseball Stadium.” (Though, I’m not sure I’ve heard a true Red Sox fan call it that.) Regardless, a chant of “Let’s go to the Yankees” could be heard almost every other inning. (The other song, with the word not nice, was sometimes heard too.)

At times, the die-hard Red Sox fans, who obviously occupied by far the majority of the 36,673 sold-out crowd, didn’t seem to have the energy to drown out the call for foreign rallying. It’s that kind of year here.

They know it’s useless. These Yankees are just too good.

With the “disaster” of their 82-80 season behind them, the Yankees once again became the real Bronx Bombers. Their 50th MLB victory – fortunately won here on Friday night – provided a nice punctuation mark to a brilliant start.

A huge winter meet in which they acquired energetic outfielder Alex Verdugo as well as the great Juan Soto, a progression toward average and the unwavering belief that they would be healthier (how could they not?) have marked themselves as slight favorites in the American League to start. the year. But almost no one saw this coming. (Certainly not me, who saw them as a third place team. Sorry for that call!)

The Yankees are putting up big numbers – their plus-130 run differential says it all – and are dominating their schedule. They lead the American League in runs scored with 367, on-base percentage at .333, OPS at .771 and more. The tandem of Soto and Aaron Judge is as unstoppable as the Yankees imagined when they sent a half-rotation to San Diego for Soto (but avoided giving up top prospects Spencer Jones, George Lombard Jr. or Roderick Arias) .

If Judge isn’t MVP, then it’s Soto, who now has a career-high 11 consecutive games reaching base at least twice. No one wanted to pick a favorite for the prize in their clubhouse. (I know, I tried to ask, but got stopped.)

Soto, however, thanked Judge, the fire in Soto’s ice.

“It feels really good to hit in front of him,” Soto told the Post. “When you have a guy like Judge behind you, it’s one of the best things you can have. …You don’t have to be the hero every time.

Boone, meanwhile, is happy to reunite the league’s MVP co-favorites. (Predictably, he wouldn’t say who’s leading this race, either.)

“When (Soto) and Judgie do what they do,” Boone said, “it’s just another level from everyone (others).”

Speaking of another level, the reigning Cy Young winner will only make this great Yankees team even better.