The Yankees needed to make a tough decision to bring Gerrit Cole and Jose Caballero back from the IL and optioning prospect Spencer Jones was the solution.

The team announced late Thursday that Jones and RHP Yovanny Cruz were optioned back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The corresponding moves were not announced, but with Cole slated to start Friday's series opener against the Rays and Caballero's 10-day IL stint set to end, those are the likely changes to the roster.

For Jones, the call-up felt like a long time coming for the 25-year-old. With his power numbers opening eyes in the minors, 35 long balls in 2025 and 11 this year, many wanted to see if his skills could translate with the Yankees. But the outfielder just couldn't get it going in his time in pinstripes.

In 10 games in the bigs, Jones had four hits (all singles) in 24 at-bats, with three walks, two RBI and a stolen base. He also struck out 12 times, an issue the slugger has had his entire professional career.

Across 33 games in Triple-A this season, he has struck out 46 times in 120 at-bats. He had 179 punchouts in 438 at-bats between Double-A and Triple-A.

Cole will take the spot of Cruz, 26, who made his MLB debut on Wednesday against the Blue Jays. The right-hander was electric, striking out three batters in his two innings of work. On Thursday, Cruz wasn't as effective. He allowed a hit and hit a batter while getting just one out.

He'll return to the minors, where he held a 3.00 ERA and struck out 23 batters in 18.0 IP across 15 appearances with the RailRiders.

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