Luis Gil’s Triple-A dominant performance offers hope for struggling NY Yankees rotation

The New York Yankees are keeping a close eye on their rehab pipeline, headlined by Luis Gil‘s encouraging step forward on the road back to the Bronx. Pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the right-hander tossed two innings in a rehab outing to demonstrate he is steadily building back toward a return to the Yankees’ roster.

In Tuesday’s brief tune-up, Gil issued two walks and struck out two over two scoreless frames. Beyond the box score, his poise and sharp movement on the mound generated plenty of buzz, a welcome sign for a Yankees rotation in need of reliable depth.

After battling injuries and erratic performance early in the campaign, Gil looks to be regaining the form that could force manager Aaron Boone into a decision as the Yankees gear up for the stretch run of the regular season.

While the Yankees are also managing an injury to Max Fried—which Boone downplayed as non-concerning—Gil’s progress offers a timely boost. Combined with a clearer return timeline for captain Aaron Judge, the news out of the trainer’s room is beginning to tilt in New York’s favor.

Gil’s struggles prior to his injury

In four April starts before landing on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, Gil’s primary roadblock was a drastic dip in his swing-and-miss stuff. Opposing hitters stopped chasing his high four-seam fastball out of the strike zone, forcing him into predictable counts where he was hit hard, surrendering four home runs across his first two starts alone.

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Command issues and ballooning pitch counts repeatedly knocked him out of games early, culminating in a disastrous April 26 outing against the Houston Astros where he generated just three total whiffs and failed to record a single strikeout over four innings.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are also nearing the return of Cody Bellinger from the IL, with Boone confirming an optimistic timeline for his re-entry into the lineup. What once looked like an overwhelming injury crisis in New York is suddenly trending in a much brighter direction.