Yankees option starter Luis Gil to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Following a rough start against the Astros on Sunday afternoon in which he surrendered six runs on five hits and three walks in four innings including a pair of early two-run homers, Luis Gil has been demoted to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre. It is the second time this season he has been optioned to the RailRiders this season after getting sent down out of spring training when the Yankees’ schedule allowed for a four-man rotation for the first two weeks. He must remain there for a minimum of 15 days, meaning the earliest he can be called up is May 11th.

The move comes as no surprise given the impending returns of Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole from elbow surgery rehab and Gil’s poor form to start the campaign. Although he appeared to right the ship with 6.1 scoreless innings against the Red Sox at the start of the week, this latest stinker means he is 1-2 in four starts with a 6.05 ERA, 8.43 FIP, -0.4 fWAR, and more walks (11) than strikeouts (9).

Gil’s fastball velocity is still about two mph below his AL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024. Even more than the velocity, he hasn’t show the ability to command any of his pitches. This means his walk rate is creeping toward a career worst while also giving up almost three home runs per nine innings. He would certainly be served by an extended period to work on his mechanics in a lower pressure environment. As David Cone mentioned on the latest broadcast, Gil is throwing from a lower arm slot and cross firing instead of striding toward home plate, and you wonder how much he is continuing to compensate for the serious lat injury that cost him more than half of 2025.

That being said, it was always inevitable that Gil’s name would be the first called for a potential demotion out of the starting rotation as Rodón and Cole near their returns. Rodón is the nearer of the two to his season debut after an offseason procedure to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow. He tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his rehab start with the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades on Friday. He will likely require at least a couple more rehab appearances after throwing 65 pitches, but could theoretically be built up to join the major league team before Gil’s option window is up. could also make a spot-start if needed.