Yankees Lose Rookie of the Year Luis Gil For Significant Period

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has confirmed that last year's Rookie of the Year Luis Gil will be out until well into the season, due to a high-grade lat strain.

Aaron Boone announced that Luis Gil has a high-grade lat strain and will not throw for at least six weeks pic.twitter.com/0MDOmxvuKa
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 3, 2025

Boone says that Gil won't throw for "at least" six weeks, and then with a ramp-up and a 'spring training' that he'll need, even if all goes well, he wouldn't be ready to pitch in a game until late into the first half of the season. Perhaps June or even July.

It's a tough break for the Yankees' rotation, but maybe not so much for veteran Marcus Stroman. He came into camp blustering that he would not pitch out of the bullpen, even though he wasn't pencilled in amongst the top 5 starters.

But as they always say, these things have a way of working themselves out. Unfortunately for the Yanks, it wasn't the best way they could have hoped for.

Gil had dabbled with a handful of games in the 2021 and 2022 seasons on the big league roster, but broke through in a big way in 2024, posting a 15-7 mark with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 29 starts on his way to the AL ROY. He posted 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings, but also led the majors by issuing 77 walks, something he'll need to cut down on. He also limited opposing batters to a .189 average.

Stroman, who'll now slide into Gil's spot in the rotation, had his worst major league season, with an eight-year high 4.31 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP with just 6.6 K/9. His ERA and WHIP have risen steadily over each of the last four seasons.