The New York Yankees will not win the World Series this year, after the Tampa Bay Rays swept them out of the American League Division Series with Wednesday night’s nail-biting 4-3 victory at Yankee Stadium. That means the Yankees have now gone 17 straight seasons without winning a World Series.
That drought ties the longest stretch without a World Series title in the history of the franchise since 1923, when the Yankees won the first of their record 27 titles. The only other 17-year drought in that time period came between the 1978 and 1996 World Series championships.
With another season now done and the Yankees looking ahead to avoiding setting a new franchise record for World Series futility, the Bronx Bombers made a decision Thursday on a former AL Rookie of the Year right-handed pitcher.
The Yankees recalled Luis Gil from the Florida Complex League Yankees on Thursday, reversing a late-September option after their Division Series flameout.
Gil is arbitration-eligible again in 2027, coming off a shoulder injury, and his place on next year’s roster is up in the air. But at least for the time being, he has reclaimed his place on the major-league side of the team’s 40-man roster.
Gil, Bradley Hanner and Brendan Beck all came back from the FCL on Oct. 8, according to MiLB.com‘s transactions log. The Yankees had optioned Gil and Hanner after the Sept. 24 game, according to MLB.com.
A recall this late changes a roster designation, not a playing status. It returns an optioned 40-man player to the major-league side, and with New York eliminated there is no active roster to join. Clubs process these moves in batches to put the 40-man in order before the offseason.
Luis Gil’s Injury History and Path to the FCL
No new injury prompted the September option. Gil walked four and allowed an unearned run in two hitless innings against the Rays on Sept. 24, his fourth appearance of the month, according to CBS Sports. His 2026 line was an unimpressive 1-2, 4.61 ERA, 17 strikeouts and 18 walks in 27 1/3 innings.
He opened the year at Triple-A, returned April 10 and was optioned back after struggling in three of four starts. Shoulder inflammation followed on May 8. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters it was a new injury, unrelated to the April results, and Gil was barred from throwing for at least three weeks, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Gil resumed throwing June 13, faced hitters July 24 and began a rehab assignment at High-A Hudson Valley on Aug. 11. Triple-A activated him Aug. 18 with a relief role planned, and the Yankees recalled him Aug. 30.
Tommy John surgery in May 2022 limited him to four innings that season and four more in 2023, according to NJ.com‘s Yankees coverage. In 2025, an MRI revealed a Grade 3 lat strain that shut him down for at least six weeks, according to ESPN. He returned Aug. 3 and posted a 3.32 ERA over 11 starts.
Luis Ángel Gil was born June 3, 1998, in Azua, Dominican Republic. He signed with Minnesota in 2015, joined the Yankees in a 2018 trade for outfielder Jake Cave and debuted Aug. 3, 2021. He won 2024 AL Rookie of the Year with a 15-7 record, and his career mark is 21-11 with a 3.61 ERA.
Luis Gil’s Trade Outlook for the New York Yankees
The recall does not make Gil any easier to trade, as the Yankees have been rumored to be contemplating. He stayed on the 40-man roster throughout the option, and players can be moved from either side of that roster. Bringing him back with Hanner and Beck is an administrative move, not necessarily a signal of anything one way or the other.
His trade value will depend on his years of team control and his medical history. Gil earned $2,162,500 in 2026 and has arbitration years in 2027 and 2028 before free agency in 2029, according to Spotrac contract data. He is projected to be in line for a small raise, to $2.3 million, in arbitration this winter.
According to Just Baseball‘s Zach Cioffi, the Yankees are expected to tender Gil, using the threat of a non-tender to reach a below-market deal rather than taking the case to a hearing.
Yankees Announce Luis Gil Decision 1 Day After Rays Sweep Ends Season