The New York Yankees went into spring training with what appeared to be a surplus of starting pitching. But as happens so often, injuries suddenly turn a luxury into a necessity.
Right-hander Luis Gil, the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, will undergo an MRI exam on Saturday after cutting his Friday bullpen session short due to feeling tightness near his right shoulder. Yankees manager Aaron Boone informed reporters of the pending MRI.
“When a pitcher stops his bullpen, that’s concerning. But I also don’t want to get too far ahead,” he continued. “We’ll see what we have. But anytime they pull themselves from a bullpen a couple pitches in, that’s concerning.”
Boone added that the development “feels like something that’s going to cost us some time.”
The Yankees appeared to have a five-man rotation set for the 2025 season with Gerrit Cole, free-agent addition Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Gil and Clarke Schmidt. That apparently squeezed Marcus Stroman out of the team’s starting staff, motivating the Yankees to pursue a trade during the offseason. But his $18 million salary for 2025, in addition to a vesting option for 2026 if he pitches 140 innings, apparently didn’t attract much interest.
However, Stroman could now have a spot if Gil is sidelined for an extended period. Rookie Will Warren, who’s thrown five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in spring training, is also a candidate along with veteran Carlos Carrasco, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Gil, 26, finished 2024 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings and a 15-7 record in 29 starts. He missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery he underwent at the end of the 2022 campaign. But an injury to Cole in spring training created an opportunity for Gil, and he seized a rotation spot.
The Yankees received additional bad news on another pitcher, with J.T. Brubaker being diagnosed with three fractured ribs after attempting to dodge a comebacker last week.
Brubaker, 31, has pitched three MLB seasons, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates. But the right-hander has missed the past two years recovering from Tommy John surgery and an oblique injury. He has a career 4.99 ERA with 324 strikeouts in 315 2/3 innings.
