Luis Gil is down for the count.
The reigning AL Rookie of the Year was diagnosed with a high-grade lat strain, manager Aaron Boone revealed on Monday at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which comes with at least a six-week shutdown, though the Yankees were still gathering more information and opinions from doctors.
The amount of time down is typically equal to the time it takes to build back up for a pitcher, so the Yankees could be without Gil for at least three months, with June looking like a best-case scenario at this point.
But with the right-hander not getting a full spring training under his belt, it would not be surprising if it takes even longer to get back.
“Tough moment right there to digest,” Gil said through an interpreter. “Last year, you end up putting together a good season and you find ways to help the team and contribute. You end the season with that desire inside to keep on doing that and keep going out there and competing. When you get news like this, it’s definitely not easy to swallow.”
Yankees starter Luis Gil will be shut down for six weeks with a lat injury.
Boone said the hope is that Gil will be able to return this season, but that depends on how his shutdown goes and how he feels once he starts throwing again.
“We just gotta see how involved it is in other areas and what it affects,” Boone said. “Everyone’s different in how they heal. We’ll see.”
Clarke Schmidt suffered a lat strain in late May last season and was shut down for four weeks before returning the first week of September — so slightly over three months.
Yankees pitcher Luis Gil throws live batting practice at spring training on Feb. 25, 2025.
Gil has already picked Schmidt’s brain about the injury and the rehab process he is facing, hoping it helps him down the road.
But losing Gil is a blow, coming off a season in which he broke out while going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA with 171 strikeouts across 151 ²/₃ innings and 29 starts.
The innings blew past his previous career high and came after the 26-year-old missed most of 2022 and 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Boone said it was “tough to say” whether the lat injury — which Gil first felt during a bullpen session Friday that he cut short after four or five pitches because of tightness — was related to the heavy workload last year.
“It’s pitching, different things crop up,” Boone said. “It’s why we’ve put such a value in what these guys do and their throwing programs and when they start and how we’re real methodical with how they build up. I feel like we’ve started to turn a corner there, but it’s certainly one of the things that’s troubling in our game.”
Gil’s injury opens the door for Marcus Stroman to slot into the rotation after the veteran entered camp looking like the odd man out in the rotation.
Marcus Stroman during a Yankees spring training outing on Feb. 21, 2025.
For now, the rest of their starters have stayed mostly healthy, with Max Fried making his spring debut on Monday, Gerrit Cole scheduled to make his second start on Thursday, Carlos Rodón having made two starts already and Schmidt possibly getting into a game by next week after he was briefly slowed by a cranky back.
But Gil’s injury also shines a light on the Yankees’ depth, with Will Warren now representing the next man up if another starter goes down.
Warren, who struggled across six outings in his first taste of the big leagues last year, has looked sharp so far this spring and will start again on Tuesday.
Behind him, the Yankees have veteran Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans in camp on non-roster deals.
One of their top pitching prospects, Chase Hampton, underwent Tommy John surgery last month while JT Brubaker, who was supposed to be another depth piece, broke three ribs on Feb. 21, sidelining him indefinitely.
“Hopefully overall, you can stay fairly healthy, but unfortunately these things are inevitable and that’s why every team tries to build in some depth,” Boone said. “We feel like we’re in a good spot with who we have. It’s part of it.”
