NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe will start an injury rehabilitation assignment Tuesday and ace pitcher Gerrit Cole could soon begin minor league outings.
Recovering from left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14, Volpe received medical clearance Monday night to report to Double-A Somerset. He had been working out at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Florida.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Volpe likely will play three to five innings in his first games.
“He'll probably play in four games this week with Somerset and then go from there and build them up kind of like spring training, although he’s had over 50 live at-bats down there and has had a lot of work at shortstop getting out on defense,” Boone said. “So he’s a little ahead of the game from when you would start spring training probably.”
Volpe, who turns 25 on April 28, hurt the shoulder last May 3 and returned to the lineup two days later but struggled for much of the season. He had a pair of cortisone shots and hit .212 with 19 homers and a career-high 72 RBIs.
Cole, a six-time All-Star and the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner, is returning from reconstructive elbow surgery on March 11 last year. He made a pair of one-inning spring training starts on March 18 and 24, and has been facing hitters.
In his latest session, Cole threw 42 pitches over three simulated innings on Sunday against batters from High-A Hudson Valley. Boone said Cole will throw again Friday and the team had not yet decided whether it would be another batting practice session or his first minor league rehab outing.
“We’re really kind of taking it week to week, and I don't even know what the number is going to be on Friday,” Cole said of his pitch count.
Cole's arm feels far better than before the surgery.
“It’s definitely a different arm,” he said. “There’s still the same recovery patterns. I think the more and more I stay on like a rotation, the more I go through these cycles of adapting, getting sore, adapting, getting sore adapting, which is normal. ... The way the ball’s kind of coming out, the ability to get through the baseball a little bit better and then from the recovery standpoint is more normal prior to having some injuries.”
Cole's last official outing was in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.
While position players' minor league rehab assignments are limited to 20 days, pitchers have 30 days and those recovering from Tommy John surgery may receive three consecutive 10-day extensions.
Left-hander Carlos Rodón threw 50 pitches to batters over three simulated innings before Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Rodón is recovering from surgery on Oct. 15 to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and shave a bone spur, and his rehab was slowed by right hamstring tightness.
Boone said Rodón will throw again on Saturday and the team also had not decided whether it would be more batting practice or a minor league game.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - New York Yankees Anthony Volpe heads for first base after hitting an RBI single against the Boston Red Sox during the fourth inning of Game 3 of an American League wild-card baseball playoff series, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II,File)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dan Vladar turned aside Carolina's fourth shootout attempt, threw his arms in the air and waited for the swarm of Flyers to mob him in celebration.
Every Flyer hopped the boards and rushed the ice as fans — almost all clad in orange — went wild in a celebration six years — and a long rebuild — in the making.
The Flyers skated to center ice and raised their sticks toward a packed and rowdy crowd that hasn’t enjoyed a home playoff series since 2018 as “CLINCHED!” flashed on the big screen.
Yes, Philadelphia — long ago one of the model franchises in the NHL — is indeed back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Tyson Foerster scored the only goal in the shootout to send Philadelphia to a 3-2 win over the Eastern Conference top seed Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, setting up a first-round series with Sidney Crosby and Pittsburgh.
“It's going to be a lot of fun,” Owen Tippett said. “These guys in this room love each other. It's going to be a blast. But the job's not done.”
Reaching the postseason is a meaningful milestone for the Flyers and fans who endured many seasons of miserable hockey.
“It's been a lot of years," Flyers first-year coach Rick Tocchet said. “I feel for them, I really do. I get it. We could only do our part and try and build this thing. I understand their angst. Hopefully this gives them a little bit of belief.”
The Flyers played must-win hockey in the final week of the season. Chicago beat Philadelphia in 2010 for the Stanley Cup, and the Flyers never recovered, winning three playoff series headed into this season.
Only Toronto (1966-67) has suffered longer than any other team that has won at least one Stanley Cup.
The Flyers have been close: Philadelphia lost in the Cup finals in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997 and 2010.
The architect of an overdue organizational overhaul, general manager Danny Briere, kept his eye on the future the last three seasons, refusing to yield his promising prospects for veterans that could have accelerated the rebuild.
The Flyers are loaded with young stars like Matvei Michkov, who scored against Carolina, and 19-year-old rookie Porter Martone. Both are expected to usher the Flyers into serious Stanley Cup contention in the future.
“I think the room’s in a good spot," Travis Konecny said. "A lot of the young guys that we have, to be honest with you, they’ve been farther ahead than you would expect. And they also play a professional style where they make the right plays at the right time.”
Perhaps the biggest for Briere was hiring Tocchet.
Tocchet played more than a decade with Philly in stints at the start and end of his career and turned modest playoff hopes into reality.
“I’m enjoying watching these games, win these pressure games,” Tocchet said. "As coach, like, I’m not nervous. I’m excited for these guys.”
Philadelphia has one of the longest championship droughts in the NHL, last winning the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. Those “Broad Street Bullies” teams are a cherished part of the franchise’s past and a reminder of the time that passed since hoisting the trophy.
The Flyers needed two points over their final two games to clinch a playoff spot and trailed 2-0 against a Hurricanes team that got the point it needed to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East.
Michkov started the rally and Trevor Zegras scored on a power play later in the second period, tying the game.
After each team missed on their first three shootout attempts, Foerster delivered the winner that will be remembered as the most important goal over the last six seasons.
Foerster’s season was considered done following an injury in early December. The 24-year-old, who had a career-best 25 goals last season, missed 49 games, but recovered and returned this month.
Not all Flyers fans wore orange.
Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper watched the end of the shootout in the clubhouse after the Phillies’ 13-7 win over the Cubs.
“We’re all going to be behind them in their playoff run," Schwarber said. "Can’t wait to see them get out there. ... I don’t know if we’re ever going to be able to sneak over to a game, but hopefully we can.”
The Flyers finish the season Tuesday against Montreal before beginning preparation for Pittsburgh.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
The Philadelphia Flyers gather around the net of goalie Dan Vladar, second from left, to celebrate a win and clinching a playoff berth after an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Flyers right winger Tyson Foerster is honored with the first star of the game after an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Flyers goalie Dan Vladar reacts after a win in an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
The Philadelphia Flyers gather around the net of goalie Dan Vladar, top left, as they celebrate after making the playoffs after an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Flyers right winger Matvei Michkov, center, celebrates after his goal with defenseman Jamie Drysdale, left, and center Denver Barkey, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
