Following a stint on the 15-day injured list due to a lower back strain, Luis Gil is returning to the New York Yankees. The Yanks reinstated the rookie pitcher Thursday, per a team announcement. He's expected to start against the Chicago Cubs Friday. New York optioned reliever Scott Effross to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Gil landed on the injured list on Aug. 21 after exiting his start in the fourth inning the day before. The right-hander made a rehab start 11 days later, striking out six batters through 3 2/3 innings last Sunday. While Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t give Gil rave reviews for his minor-league outing, he mentioned what he did like from the 26-year-old.
“I watched it. It was OK. Stuff was good,” Boone said Monday, per MLB.com. “The swing-and-miss was there. Had a long first inning, threw like 38 pitches in the first inning, but I thought all in all, all right.”
Gil took the mound 24 times before his injury and was among the best rookie pitchers in baseball. He has a 12-6 record and a 3.39 ERA with 144 strikeouts across 124 2/3 innings. Gil has nine quality starts to his name this year, although he has only two in 12 starts since early June.
As electric as his stuff is, there is concern revolving around Gil's walk numbers. He leads all MLB pitchers with 66 free passes despite missing three turns in the rotation. Still, opponents are hitting .185 off him and he's allowed more than three runs in only five of his 24 starts.
Yankees layout rotation plans for the weekend
New York is not only welcoming back Luis Gil from the injured list. Fellow starter Clarke Schmidt is expected to return this weekend and is slated to start Saturday. The righty has been on the shelf for over three months due to a lat strain after pitching brilliantly to begin the year.
With Gil and Schmidt back in the mix, Aaron Boone and his coaching staff have some major decisions to make before the playoffs begin in less than four weeks. The Yankees will have six starters on the active roster when they officially activate Schmidt, with Nestor Cortes moving to the bullpen in a long-relief role.
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That can easily change over the month, especially after Boone said Clay Holmes will no longer be the primary closer after he blew his 11th save of the year Tuesday against the Texas Rangers. Reports are that the Yanks will not define their closer role with one pitcher.
Yankees fans and baseball analysts alike have hinted at the idea of Gil becoming the closer. Seeing as teams only need four starters in the playoffs, it would make sense for New York to add a second starter to the pen as a potential closing option.
Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Marcus Stroman figure to be three of the four starters the Yanks will use in October. The next few weeks will likely act as a tryout for Gil and Schmidt to claim the fourth spot, though both will be crucial players for New York's playoff run regardless of their roles.
