Luis Gil has high hopes for his 2026 season. But he may be in danger of another lost year after his most recent spring training outing.
The New York Yankees third-year pitcher was projected to start the season as the No. 5 starter by Brendan Kuty of the Athletic, which would imperil his roster spot when injured pitchers Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon return early in 2026.
Gil was the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, and was hoping to rebound after an injury-marred 2025 campaign. So far this spring Gil is 2-1 with a 6.28 ERA and gave up seven earned runs in three innings in his start against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Luis Gil May Start the Year in the Minor Leagues
The Yankees play the first game of the MLB season and will send Max Fried to the hill against the San Francisco Giants on March 25. With a day off on the 26th, one of four the Yankees have in the season’s first 12 days, Kuty spelled out why Gil is in danger of starting the year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
“The Yankees could send Gil to the minors to start the year,” Kuty wrote. “They have four off days before their 10th game of the season. They won’t need a fifth starter until early April. They could also pair Gil with a piggyback reliever (Ryan Yarbrough, Paul Blackburn).”
Yarbrough started eight games for the Yankees in 2025, and won three including his six-inning, four-hit, one-run outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 1. He could be in line to be New York’s No. 5 starter in place of Gil, especially if Gil is as bad as he has been of late.
“Gil got just two swings-and-misses on 19 fastballs [Sunday],” Kuty wrote. “This spring, his fastball has a whiff rate of 18.8 percent, which is the same as it was last season, as he struggled.
“His heater had a 28.5 percent whiff rate in 2024, when he won American League Rookie of the Year. Gil said he believes his command must improve with the pitch, and as much as possible his velocity, which was at 95.8 mph on Sunday — well short of what he averaged in 2024 (96.6 mph).”
Luis Gil May Not End 2026 With the Yankees
It may not be good asset management to trade a player whose value is as down as Gil’s is. But the Yankees have a strong arsenal of starting pitchers, especially with Cole and Rodon coming back sooner than later, plus Clarke Schmidt will be back at some point this season.
Fried will start opening night, likely followed by 2025 breakout sensation Cam Schlittler and second-year righty Will Warren. The Yankees traded for Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins, and he will presumably get a long leash since New York offloaded four prospects for the 26-year-old lefty.
No team ever only starts six pitchers, so Gil will be needed by the Yankees at some point. Maybe they could put his high-octane fastball into the bullpen, if he can start generating more swings and misses after the season starts.
But the way things are trending, Gil may spend 2026 in the minors or quietly be offloaded for a change of scenery.
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