TAMPA, Fla. — As Gerrit Cole threw his first bullpen of spring training on Friday morning, a crowd of reporters made their best efforts to get a look through the mostly-covered fence that encaged the rehabbing righty.

While those with cameras took turns sharing limited peepholes in order to snap a shot of Cole, who underwent Tommy John surgery last spring, the contingent that stood behind him enjoyed an unimpeded view. The group included manager Aaron Boone, pitching coaches Matt Blake and Desi Druschel, bench coach Brad Ausmus and guest instructor Ron Guidry, who all watched Cole consistently reach the mid-90s as he simulated two innings of work.

Cole, who had already thrown some bullpens in New York and California over the offseason, saw his velocity hit at least 96 mph, and he threw his full arsenal to Austin Wells.

“He looked like a Cy Young pitcher,” the catcher said of Cole, who won the award in 2023. “He looked smooth and in control. He looked confident in his ability.”

“Was nice and easy,” Guidry chimed in.

Boone agreed with those assessments, likening an in-command Cole to a “diver that dives off the high board and just goes in the water and makes no splash.”

“He looked like Gerrit Cole,” the manager added.

Cole also came away pleased, calling his session “well executed” while noting that his reconstructed elbow “feels really good.”

“It feels different than it has been in quite some time,” he continued. “Feel is subjective, so we’ll have to see how it plays out.”

So far, all has gone according to plan for the 35-year-old, who battled elbow inflammation in 2024 before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament around this time last year. But while Cole has looked sharp thus far, Boone made it clear that the Yankees won’t be rushing him back or pushing him harder than he needs to be.

Cole, meanwhile, reiterated that full Tommy John reconstruction comes with a 14-18-month timetable.

“So it really hasn’t changed,” Cole said, meaning he’s looking at returning sometime in May, the earlier end of the spectrum, or June.

Earlier this week, Boone said that Cole is scheduled to start facing live hitters in “a couple weeks” and could “potentially” get in games before spring training ends. Cole said the latter goal is realistic, but that isn’t set in stone.

Cole is doing his best to stay present, as he is still in the midst of what he said has been a “long and tedious” process. That said, he’s certainly longing for real games after sitting out the entire 2025 season.

“I just miss playing,” he said. “I miss that outlet of working hard and feeling exhausted every five days.”

Whenever Cole does return, the Yankees will be banking on him being the best version of himself.

The club didn’t add another frontline starter this offseason despite some others having injury and workload concerns, partly because they have Cole coming back. But Tommy John surgery can come with setbacks, rust and even prolonged struggles — look at how Atlanta’s Spencer Strider fared last year — which is why Cole doesn’t want to get ahead of himself.

“I’m a confident guy,” Cole said. “I have high expectations for my execution internally, but overall, in terms of performance and expectations, I don’t really have any set goals or numbers or things like that. It’s been working really well to just stay day-to-day and execute the task at hand, so I think the challenge is to continue to do that as things become more exciting and as things start to get rolling more and more.”

Boone, however, isn’t going to doubt that Cole can return to form.

“I’m not going to put any ceiling on what Gerrit could do once he’s back and in the rotation,” the skipper said, noting the high success rate of Tommy John surgery.

Some have wondered if Cole will return with new experiments that he concocted during his down time, but the cerebral pitcher said not much has changed, aside from him having more time to lift in the weight room. Cole didn’t reveal any new pitches, and he said that his mechanics remain mostly the same.

There is one exception, as he’s now starting his windup by bringing his hands over his head.

“It feels good,” Cole said when asked about the tweak. “I generally just like the rhythm of it.”

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