Luis Gil did not make the New York Yankees’ starting rotation and might open the season in the minor leagues.
The Yankees announced Sunday that they would start the season with a four-man rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers, eschewing a fifth starter because they have four off days built into the opening 13 days of their schedule.
That leaves Gil, the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, without a rotation spot and potentially without a clear role on the Yankees’ 26-man roster.
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“Obviously, he’d like to be a starter with us, so frustrating,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake told reporters, according to MLB.com. “But at the same time, he understands the position we’re in with the way the schedule lines up for the first two weeks in particular.
“Now it’s just a matter of making sure we do right by him and keep him in rhythm and find the best balance for the bullpen and our starting group.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged that the best place for Gil to maintain that rhythm and balance might be in the minors, where he can stay on a starting pitcher’s routine.
“We’re working through that — do we want him to start a couple [in the minors] and then pop him in the rotation?” Boone said, according to the New York Post. “Is there an avenue to do it a different way? That’s what we’re working through still.”
The Yankees start their season Wednesday against the Giants in San Francisco. After the opening 13 days, New York plays 13 games in as many days from April 7 to April 19, when Gil will likely have his first chance to rejoin the rotation.
Gil, 27, missed the first four months of the 2025 season with a lat strain and struggled with his command when he returned to the Yankees, going 4-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 starts while issuing 33 walks and just 41 strikeouts in 57 innings.
But the hard-throwing right-hander flashed his dominant stuff in his most recent spring training outing Friday against the Baltimore Orioles, throwing five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.
“That was 2024 Luis Gil right there,” Boone told reporters after Friday’s game. “It was great to see.”
