John Sterling, the longtime radio voice of the New York Yankees, has decided to retire, effective immediately, the club announced Monday.

Sterling, 85, joined the Yankees' broadcast in 1989. He went on to call 5,420 regular-season and 211 postseason Yankees games. Sterling had taken on a reduced role in recent seasons and traveled less often because of health concerns. This season was his 36th in the booth and 20th working alongside Suzyn Waldman.

Gerrit Cole threw a baseball on Monday for the first time in four weeks.

The catch session, the first of three scheduled this week, represented an important checkpoint in Cole's recovery from nerve inflammation in his right elbow that will sideline him at least until late May.

Cole is one of several prominent pitchers to sustain a major arm injury since teams reported for spring training in February.

The recent surge was unnerving enough for Tony Clark, the Major League Baseball Players Association executive director, to release a statement Saturday blaming the increase in elbow injuries on the pitch clock.

Major League Baseball responded with its own statement, dismissing Clark's thesis, pointing to the rise of pitcher injuries in recent decades, long before the pitch clock was enforced.

Cole addressed the surge of injuries and the ensuing exchange between the parties, saying he was "disheartened" by the back-and-forth.

"I'm just frustrated it's a combative issue," the New York Yankees' ace said. "It's like, 'OK, we have divorced parents and the child's misbehaving and we can't get on the same page to get the child to behave.' Not that the players are misbehaving, but we have an issue here and we need to get on the same page to at least try and fix it."

New York Yankees ace right-hander Gerrit Cole will start playing catch this week as he continues to rehab his ailing right elbow.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Sunday that Cole could begin throwing Monday or Tuesday.

The team placed Cole on the 60-day injured list prior to Opening Day due to nerve inflammation in the elbow. Cole would be eligible to return May 27.

New York Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn UCL, he announced on Saturday.

The expected recovery time is 10-12 months.

Pain in Loaisiga's arm surfaced at the end of his perfect ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday and he underwent an MRI on Thursday.

If the bitter cold wasn't enough, the Yankees' home opener also featured a rare earthquake Friday morning.

Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres was taking batting practice from bench coach Brad Ausmus on the field when the earthquake rattled the region. The Blue Jays weren't on the field yet. The players in the visitors' clubhouse didn't react to the shaking.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who was on the field during the quake, said he felt a vibration on his feet. He didn't realize it was an earthquake. Boone, a USC product, noted he was used to tremors after growing up in Southern California.

The Yankees placed reliever Jonathan Loáisiga on the 60-day injured list with a right flexor strain before their home opener Friday.

Manager Aaron Boone described the problem as a "significant forearm strain," saying they will consult with doctors on the next steps.

It is a major blow for a bullpen with the fourth-lowest ERA (1.27) in the majors through the first week of the season. Loáisiga, 29, pitched in three of the Yankees' first seven games and logged four scoreless innings, striking out three batters and issuing one walk.

Juan Soto is now a member of the New York Yankees, but some attempts were made to keep the star with the San Diego Padres for the long haul.

The Padres traded Soto to the Yankees in December.

Scott Boras, however, says that former Padres owner Peter Seidler had started to explore a multi-year deal with Soto last summer. 

"Peter called about wanting to pursue [Soto], and there were discussions about wanting to keep him. And unfortunately, it did not work out because of [Seidler's] health," Boras told Jon Heyman.

Seidler passed away in November at age 63.

The scheduled start time for Monday's game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins has been pushed back because of the total solar eclipse.

The Yankees were initially set to host the Marlins at 2:05 p.m. ET, but the start time has been delayed four hours.

"After reconsidering the challenges of playing through Monday's solar eclipse, including potential in-game delays, Major League Baseball and the Yankees have rescheduled the start time of the Yankees-Marlins game on April 8 at Yankee Stadium from 2:05 p.m. to 6:05 p.m.," the club said in a statement.

Alex Verdugo's distinctive look has changed since he landed with the New York Yankees.

While with the Boston Red Sox, Verdugo sported a distinctive red beard and a number of chains around his neck.

Verdugo shaved the beard upon joining the Yankees, and Aaron Boone has ordered Verdugo a maximum of one chain around his neck per game.

"It's kind of been hard, man," Verdugo said. "Because usually I'm used to wearing like three of four."

He has been packing at least six chains per road trip for years.

"My favorite chain is actually a custom one that I got built for my mom who was going through breast cancer," Verdugo said. "I did breast cancer ribbons with hearts connecting all of them. So that's actually my favorite chain. But I don't wear it a lot because I don't want to break it."

The New York Yankees defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night to improve to 5-0 on the young season.

The Yankees also started the year with five wins in five games in 1933, 1988 and 1992. The 1927 Yankees started 6-0, but also had a tie in their third game.

"That's the thing, I feel like as well as we've done so far offensively, I also feel like we're not really rolling yet," Aaron Boone said. "But we're putting together tough at-bat after tough at-bat after tough at-bat."

The Yankees opened the season with a four-game sweep over the Houston Astros. All five of their wins have come on the road.