The New York Yankees are already without their star slugger Giancarlo Stanton to start the 2025 season. Aaron Boone has to deal with another injury concern.
The reigning American League Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil, is scheduled for an MRI on Saturday due to shoulder tightness. He ended his Friday bullpen session early after experiencing pain. Boone stated, “feels like it’s going to cost us some time.”
Boone said Gil pulled himself from his bullpen earlier after just a few pitches. Felt “tight” in his upper arm/shoulder area and wasn’t “able to let it go. Will get an MRI. Said Boone: “feels like it’s going to cost us some time.”
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) February 28, 2025
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Should Yankees fans be worried about Luis Gil’s health?
There’s no telling how long Gil will be out or even if he will be out. However, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Boone to go easy with him after he threw 151.2 innings in 2024. Before last season, the 26-year-old never notched more than 100 innings professionally.
Fans are hopeful it’s nothing too serious. After losing Juan Soto, the Yankees lineup took a hit. Outside of Aaron Judge, no one in their current lineup hit more than 30 home runs in the last two seasons. Brian Cashman put together a 2025 roster built on pitching. They’re hoping that Gil can be a part of that.
We see young pitchers deal with nagging injuries from time to time after a significant increase in innings thrown. From 2022-2023, Gil only pitched in 29.2 innings combined.
The Yankees might need to turn to Marcus Stroman with a potential injury to Gil
Luckily, New York has one of the best starting rotations in MLB. Gerrit Cole is one of the best pitchers in the game and isn’t too far removed from a Cy Young season. They held onto Marcus Stroman despite all the trade rumors over the offseason. Adding Max Fried now looks even better, as Gil would’ve been the No. 2 starter without the lefty. Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt will also play a pivotal role.
Stroman wasn’t too happy when asked about moving to the bullpen earlier in Spring Training. With Gil potentially sidelined, he’ll undoubtedly be a part of the staff to start 2025. Stroman was lights out in the first half of the 2024 season but struggled in the second. Across his first 12 starts in pinstripes, he pitched to a 5-2 record with a 2.60 ERA. Over his last 12 outings, he recorded a 3-5 record with a 5.67 ERA. If they get the first half version of Stroman, it will supplement the potential loss of Gil. The ace duo of Fried and Cole will for sure help. Schmidt and Rodón are reliable starters as well. That said, the loss of Gil shouldn’t deplete the Yankees rotation in any way.