The New York Yankees will be behind the eight-ball to start off the 2025 MLB season.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed to reporters on Monday that right-hander Luis Gil has been diagnosed with a high-grade right lat strain. Because of his injury, Gil will be shut down from throwing for at least the next six weeks, Boone added.
The 26-year-old Gil suffered the injury during a bullpen session several days ago. Now Gil might not be back on the mound for the Yankees again until possibly May (based on the given timeline).
Gil was the American League Rookie of the Year last season after going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 29 starts. He also then got a couple of postseason starts for the Yankees during their run to the 2024 World Series.
While Gil’s command is something that he still has to work on (walking an MLB-worst 77 batters last season), he has a very strong ability to miss bats, which may be hard for the Yankees to duplicate in his absence.
New York’s rotation this season will be led by Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and the newly-signed Max Fried. That leaves one starting spot up for grabs in Gil’s absence, and that spot is likely to go to two-time All-Star (and fellow right-hander) Marcus Stroman. Interestingly enough, Stroman has had some real tension with the Yankees in recent weeks over his diminished role with the team. But now Stroman should be getting his moment in the sun again with Gil set to be sidelined for an extended period.
