TAMPA — The Yankees boarded their charter flight to Phoenix on Sunday afternoon after a 6-1 win over the Phillies in the final Grapefruit League game of the spring. Rehabbing ace Gerrit Cole was on the plane. So was left-hander Ryan Weathers, who will start the season as the Yankees’ fourth starter.
Luis Gil was not on the flight. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year was left behind in Tampa, and the Yankees are now deciding what comes next for a pitcher whose spring raised more questions than answers.
What the Yankees are considering goes beyond a simple demotion. They are weighing whether to convert Gil into a piggyback reliever behind Weathers or send him to Triple-A for two starts before bringing him back. Either path would represent a dramatic shift for a pitcher who entered camp expecting to be a rotation anchor.
A rough spring forced the Yankees’ hand
Gil posted a 6.28 ERA across four Grapefruit League starts. His fastball lacked the swing-and-miss it carried during his Rookie of the Year campaign. The Yankees worked with him on his release point to add more deception, but progress was slow.
His final spring start on Friday against the Orioles was a breakthrough. Throwing with a higher release point, Gil pitched five shutout innings of one-hit ball. He struck out seven and walked one. His velocity was back, sitting at 96.8 mph and touching 98.8.
The problem is timing. The Yankees have four off days in the first nine days of the season and will not need a fifth starter until April 11. They chose to open with a four-man rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Weathers. That math left Gil on the outside.
Blake reveals the Yankees are weighing multiple paths for Gil
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake confirmed Sunday that the club had not made a final decision on Gil’s next step before leaving Florida. Gil is scheduled to throw an 85-pitch live batting practice session in Tampa on Wednesday while the Yankees open the season against the Giants in San Francisco.
“I think there’s a scenario where it’s behind Weathers,” Blake said of a possible piggyback role. “There’s a scenario where it’s not that role.”
The piggyback option would keep Gil with the Yankees. If his live session on Wednesday goes as well as his last start, he won’t be available for the opening series. But Gil could rejoin the club and pitch behind Weathers in the left-hander’s second and third outings. That would give the Yankees a built-in long reliever who could cover four or five innings if Weathers falters.
The other path sends Gil to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for two starts. He could pitch with an extra day of rest in Rochester on March 31, go again on regular rest against Durham at home on April 5, and then rejoin the Yankees for a road start against the Rays on April 11, the first day a fifth starter is needed.
“We’re still trying to work through that over the next 48-72 hours, just to kind of iron out what the best environment is to get him to stay where he is,” Blake said. “We feel good about the adjustment he made going to the last outing. He got the quality of the fastball back, the velo up, the swing and miss. All those things are important to see.”
Why Weathers got the nod over Gil
The decision to keep Weathers over Gil raised eyebrows. Weathers posted an 11.68 ERA in four spring starts, nearly twice as high as Gil’s 6.28. But the Yankees believe Weathers was victimized by bad luck and has been throwing the ball as well as he ever has. Boone agreed that his results were worse than his actual performance.
Gil’s situation is different. The Yankees were concerned about fundamental issues with his fastball that went beyond spring training noise. Until the mechanical adjustment in his final start, the pitch was not generating the swing-and-miss that made him dominant in 2024. As a three-pitch pitcher who relies heavily on the fastball, the Yankees could not afford to gamble.
“Now it’s just a matter of making sure we do right by him and make sure we keep him in rhythm and then also find the best balance for the bullpen and in our starting group,” Blake said. “So it’s not necessarily a specific decision around Luis.”
Gil’s demotion opens a ninth Yankees bullpen spot
With Gil being optioned regardless of which path the Yankees choose, the club will carry nine relievers instead of eight to start the season. Left-hander Brent Headrick is believed to be a lock. Jake Bird and Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest are favorites over Osvaldo Bido for the final two spots.
Bido is out of options and would be designated for assignment if he does not make the Yankees roster. Winquest must remain on the big league roster or be offered back to the Cardinals. The Yankees are expected to finalize their bullpen by Monday.
“A lot of voices are all sharing different thoughts around it,” Blake said of the bullpen decisions. “I don’t think there’s a clear right answer, but it’s trying to figure out the one that makes the most sense out of the jump.”
Gil is not happy but understands the Yankees’ position
“We’re working through that — do we want him to start a couple [in the minors] and then pop him in the rotation?” Boone said Sunday. “Is there an avenue to do it a different way? That’s what we’re working through still.”
Blake acknowledged that Gil was frustrated by the news. The right-hander wanted to break camp with the Yankees and pitch in the rotation from the start.
“Obviously, he’d like to be a starter with us right away,” Blake said. “Frustrating, but at the same time he understands the position we’re in, which is the way the schedule lines up for the first two weeks in particular.”
The Yankees have until Wednesday to finalize all 26 roster spots. The Gil decision will be the one that defines how they approach the first two weeks of the season and whether the 2024 Rookie of the Year returns as a starter or in a role he has never played before.
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