Gerrit Cole tossed five scoreless innings Monday in his first minor league rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis, but his timeline for rejoining the Pirates’ rotation is suddenly up in the air.
According to Tom Singer and Teddy Cahill of MLB.com, Cole has been scratched from his scheduled rehab start tonight. It’s unclear whether he suffered a setback with his strained right lat muscle or when he might pitch in another game. This vague message is all beat reporters were given.
In a text message shared with reporters, Buccos general manager Neal Huntington wrote, “After Gerrit’s last outing and last bullpen, we decided another bullpen to refine some things was the best course of action.”
Pirates fans will have to hope that this is as harmless as it sounds.
Cole, who has missed nearly a month, owns a 3.78 ERA and 78/29 K/BB ratio in 85 2/3 innings across 14 starts this season. He had another stint on the DL earlier this year due to shoulder fatigue.