PHOTO: Gerrit Cole's son Caden enjoys NYC outing with 'uncles' Clarke Schmidt and Anthony Volpe
Gerrit Cole can't pitch just yet for the New York Yankees, but he is still closely involved with the team. Recently, he took his young son Caden out to explore the city with his "uncles," Anthony Volpe and Clarke Schmidt. Despite not being related, Volpe and Schmidt are among the Cole family's closest friends on the team.
The four of them were taking a walk when Cole stepped back to snap a picture of his son holding Volpe's hand and walking in step with the shortstop and Schmidt. The picture was added to Cole's personal Instagram story.
Cole continues to rehab from an elbow injury and will soon be returning to the AL East-leading Yankees.
Gerrit Cole aiming to rejoin Clarke Schmidt in rotation soon
Once Gerrit Cole rejoins the New York Yankees' rotation, the team will have a difficult choice to make. It is reasonable to assume that higher-paid starters Marcus Stroman and Carlos Rodon won't be moving to the bullpen.
That leaves Nestor Cortes Jr., Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil remaining for the other two spots in the rotation. One problem is that they've all been quite good. They have the three best fWAR totals of any starters, with Cortes and Gil being worth 1.2. Schmidt is at 0.9 presently.
Gil and Schmidt have an ERA of 2.39 and 2.49, respectively. For starters, these are by far the best metrics. Rodon is next with a 3.27 ERA. Gil leads the squad in strikeout percentage, retiring 31.2% of batters. Schmidt has a modest 7.4% walk rate.
Both have been great, as has everyone in the rotation. But once Cole is healthy enough to come back, someone will get replaced.
Schmidt has blossomed into a quality starter over the last two years and seems to have finally rounded the corner. Gil, a former top prospect, has truly burst onto the scene. One of them, or Cortes Jr., will have to move. That's a good problem for the Yankees to have.