Gerrit Cole remains sidelined for the 2025 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery in early March. On Monday, he spoke to reporters for the first time following the surgery which ended his season before it began.

He was able to remove the brace protecting his right two-and-a-half weeks ago according to ESPN's Jorge Castillo. And now, he's starting to spend more time around the New York Yankees as he continues his rehab process. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he hopes the time Cole spends around the team will be therapeutic throughout the long road to recovery.

Cole dealt with elbow issues since last season that caused him to miss more than two months of action, not making his season debut until mid-June. Now, missing the 2025 season, and even possibly part of 2026, the ace badly wants to get back on the mound. That will have to wait until August, when he plans to start throwing again, but he can still imagine.

“I still pitch before I go to bed every night,” Cole said Monday via the. “I haven’t given up any hits recently.”

His road to recovery is a long, difficult one, which he acknowledged.

"It starts out really dark," Cole said on his recovery via ESPN. "And then you work your way closer to the end of the tunnel."

Castillo said Cole described the eight-week checkpoint after the surgery as "significant." Now, the sidelined ace plans to be around the team more to provide guidance amid his recovery. Although fans won't see Cole on the hill this season, the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner remains upbeat.