NEW YORK — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole took another step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow by making 20 throws off flat ground on Monday. “It felt really good today,” Cole said before New York opened a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium. “I was fairly accurate and I had a good time.”

Gerrit Cole is looking to return to the New York Yankees next season, and he cleared a procedural hurdle on Monday.