The 2024 American League Rookie of the Year may not be in the New York Yankees’ Opening Day starting rotation.
Luis Gil will not be part of the Yankees’ starting staff to open the season, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported. The team is currently discussing whether or not Gil should begin the season in the minor leagues so he can make starts on a regular turn.
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The Yankees will go with a four-man rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers to open the season.
Gil, 27, struggled during spring training, allowing 10 runs and 20 hits (six of them home runs) in 19 1/3 innings. However, he did notch 24 strikeouts in Grapefruit League play. And he pitched well in his final start of the spring on Friday, giving up only one hit in five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against the Baltimore Orioles.
“That was 2024 Luis Gil right there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game. “It was great to see.”
Gil earned AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2024, compiling a 3.50 ERA and 15-7 record with 171 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings. Yet he struggled through injuries in 2025, including tightness in his right shoulder during the spring and an eventual lat strain that sidelined him for the first four months of the season. He made 11 starts, finishing with a 3.32 ERA but struck out only 6.5 batters per nine innings.
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Whether Gil begins the season in the bullpen or in the minors to maintain a starter’s workload, the Yankees’ schedule will likely require him to join the rotation early in the season. After three off days during the first two weeks on their schedule, the Yankees face 13 straight games from April 7-19.
Weathers also struggled this spring, allowing 16 runs and 23 hits over 12 1/3 innings for an 11.68 ERA. Yet he also registered 17 strikeouts. Boone attributed the numbers to “a couple rough first innings” and said his overall performance were strong.
“I don’t feel like Weathers has been that far off, and better than his line,” Boone said, via the New York Daily News.
“But a couple rough first innings where they’ve hit the ball around on him a little bit,” he added. “I feel like he is throwing the ball well. I don’t make that much of it. His stuff is in a good place. It’s just getting it into some better spots where he’s gotten hit around.”
Boone went on to indicate that Weathers being healthy, getting the right movement on his pitches and throwing with good velocity are why the Yankees aren’t worried about him.
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The Yankees open the 2026 MLB season on Wednesday, facing the San Francisco Giants in an 8:05 p.m. ET game that will stream exclusively on Netflix.
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