Luis Gil reminds Yankees why he’s not long for rotation with logjam coming

Velocity has been a particular problem for the 27-year-old Gil, who has been working on his release point since spring training began.

Gil’s fastball velocity was averaging 94.8 mph entering Sunday’s game. While his radar readings were particularly low in his last start against the Red Sox, which came in chilly conditions, he is coming off a 2025 season in which he averaged 95.3 mph following a spring training lat injury. Gil averaged 96.6 mph during his 2024 Rookie of the Year campaign.

But a lack of heat hasn’t been Gil’s only issue.

Since returning from his injury last season, Gil had logged 72 1/3 innings in 14 MLB starts prior to Sunday. Over that span, 274 pitchers have thrown at least 70 innings. Among them, Gil ranked 177th in Stuff+ (97), 205th in WHIP (1.35), 257th in K% (16.2), 241st in xERA ((5.00), 258th in Location+ (94), 252nd in FIP (5.20), 270th in BB% (13.3), 272nd in K-BB% (2.9), and 274th in xFIP (5.70) and SIERA (5.73).

Whether it be the underlying metrics or the eyeball test, there just hasn’t been much reason to think Gil can consistently be an effective starter over the past year. The right-hander, who can be optioned to the minors, doesn’t have a profile well-suited for the bullpen, either.

Fortunately for the Yankees, Rodón should only need a few more rehab starts before he’s ready for his season debut. At that point, Gil should be the odd man out, as things stand, once that happens. Cole, meanwhile, is looking at a late-May or early-June return.

Of course, the Yankees have alternative options if they don’t want to wait on their vets before booting Gil from the rotation.

Elmer Rodríguez, one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, has a 1.27 ERA over four starts and 21 1/3 innings at Triple-A. There’s also Carlos Lagrange, another highly-regarded farmhand, who has a 3.66 ERA over five starts and 19 2/3 innings for the RailRiders.

However, the two 22-year-olds are still developing and had little-to-no Triple-A experience before this season.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Yankees continue to roll with Gil until Rodón is ready. But if Gil falters in however many starts he has left, that should no longer come as a shock, either.

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