BOSTON — Gerrit Cole confidently strolled into the cramped visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon with a big smile on his face.

He insisted it was not because he knew whether his next start would come with the Yankees after successfully completing his third rehab start on Friday night in Rochester.

“I had a mechanical problem on my plane, so I wasn’t sure I was going to get here,” Cole said with a grin. “Then worked some magic and got here.”

Cole may not have to work as much magic to be pitching at Yankee Stadium against the Orioles on Wednesday or Thursday.

Cole and manager Aaron Boone both said a decision on that has not yet been made, but conversations will pick up in earnest over the next few days to make the final call.

In the meantime, Cole was pleased with how he felt physically on Saturday, a day after striking out 10 across 4 ⅓ innings with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while building his pitch count up to 70 — which would put him in line to throw around 80-85 pitches his next time out.

“It feels like it’s coming together,” Cole said before the Yankees’ 8-4 loss to the Red Sox. “Regardless, I don’t anticipate coming back with 100 pitches, so there’s still going to be a ways to go. But the closer and closer you get, the more excited you get.”

Cole indicated the decision over whether or not he needs one more rehab start will be centered around his continued recovery as well as what the “computer” revealed about his stuff, velocity and location on Friday night.

“My eyes said it was pretty good,” Cole said. “But you just got to be thorough in that situation.”

Though Cole will have a major say in what comes next, both he and Boone said the decision would be a collaborative one.

“There’s a lot of good and smart people involved,” Boone said. “I think we’ve all done a really nice job so far in his buildup and getting him ready. So we’ll have those conversations honestly and openly and Gerrit right involved in that.”

The initial concern when it became clear that Cole would miss the first two months of the season with elbow nerve inflammation was how the Yankees would stay afloat without him.

Now, as Cole nears a return, he’s just focused about making sure he does not rock the boat.

He has mentioned a few times how the rotation has done well in eating up innings, which in turn has kept the bullpen fresh.

Because he is not built all the way up, he doesn’t not want to risk putting the bullpen in a bad spot if he has a shorter start.

”I guess it’s part of [the decision] just because he’s not entirely built up obviously,” Boone said. “But whatever way we go, I feel like we’re in a good position to handle that.”

The fact that the Yankees have an off day Monday and another a week from Monday could help Cole’s case, as the bullpen should be better rested even if he is forced to go short.

Cole acknowledged there will be an extra adrenaline boost in making his season debut that he will have to account for. That would likely bump an extra notch up if he is facing a division rival like the Orioles, featuring a lineup that would provide an immediate test.

And though the rotation has thrived without its ace, posting the lowest starters ERA in the majors (2.77) thanks in large part to his replacement, Luis Gil, the Yankees are ready to welcome Cole back with open arms. 

That may come as soon as this week, which would be a major boost for the team that on Friday became the first to reach 50 wins.

”I certainly felt like I had a pretty good shot [of getting big league hitters out Friday] night for sure,” Cole said. “You just never really know till you know, right? But what you’re trying to do is just be as prepared as you can.”