The New York Yankees’ annual injury parade marches on with a new report of bad news. Last week, Yankees’ starting pitcher and AL Rookie of the Year winner Luis Gil was shut down with shoulder tightness.
Now, the latest reports indicate Gil will not throw for at least six weeks.
SP Luis Gil has a high-grade lat strain and won’t throw for at least six weeks, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 3, 2025
They’re still gathering more information before announcing an exact timeline.
This is a huge blow for the Yankees as their prominent mid-rotation starter that had contributed so much to their early season success last year will sit on the IL to start the season, ceding his spot to less reliable arms. Gil pitched to a 3.50 ERA in his first full-year campaign while showing remarkable potential as a strikeout pitcher.
While the rotation will be weaker without him, it won’t exactly fall into disrepair. Let’s give the Yankees’ projected rotation without Gil a look.
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Yankees’ projected 2025 rotation without Luis Gil
Yankees Rotation Spot | Pitcher |
|---|---|
SP1 | RHP Gerrit Cole |
SP2 | LHP Max Fried |
SP3 | RHP Clarke Schmidt |
SP4 | LHP Carlos Rodon |
SP5 | RHP Marcus Stroman |
Gerrit Cole and Max Fried will certainly make a strong one-two punch. But beyond the top two, there are a few question marks. Clarke Schmidt performed exceptionally well last season but was injured for an extended stretch. Schmidt hasn’t pitched over 100 innings with much success having only done it once to sub-par results in 2023. This season will be a major test for Schmidt as we will see how he performs down the stretch.
That brings us to Carlos Rodon, who has proven to be extremely unreliable. When Rodon is on, he is virtually unhittable. When he isn’t, disaster always ensues. Unfortunately, the latter scenario has happened more often than the first while he has worn pinstripes.
And lastly, there is Marcus Stroman. Surprisingly enough, Stroman was excellent on the road last season, throwing to a 3.09 ERA. But at home, his ERA was 5.31. This gave him an ERA of 4.31 on the year which many fans have deemed unsatisfactory. Much has been made of trading Stroman, but now, it turns out he might be an essential rotational piece.
Among other options, there is Will Warren, Yankees’ No. 5 prospect. Warren struggled all of last year in both Triple-A and in the majors. However, this spring, he is flashing the potential he has demonstrated in prior years. Warren has thrown five scoreless innings during spring training thus far. He will likely get a second shot at pitching in the majors sometime this year.