TAMPA — Luis Gil is down for the count.
The reigning AL Rookie of the Year was diagnosed with a high-grade lat strain, manager Aaron Boone revealed on Monday at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which comes with at least a six-week shutdown, though the Yankees were still gathering more information and opinions from doctors.
“It’s a real thing,” Boone said before the Yankees hosted the Pirates.
The amount of time down is typically equal to the time it takes to build back up for a pitcher, so the Yankees could be without Gil for at least three months, with June looking like a best-case scenario at this point.
Boone said the Yankees’ hope is that Gil will be able to return this season, but that depends on how his shutdown goes and how he feels once he starts throwing again.
“Just talking to him, making sure his mind and heart’s in the right place,” Boone said. “Like, ‘Hey, we gotta get this right.’ He’s been down this road before (Tommy John surgery) and proven himself through this road — different before, obviously. But I think he’s, at least right now, in the right frame of mind to go attack it and try to get right.”
Gil was throwing a bullpen session on Friday when he cut it short after just a few pitches because he was feeling tightness around his shoulder.
The 26-year-old then underwent an MRI on Saturday afternoon, which revealed the extent of the injury.
Losing Gil is a blow to the Yankees, coming off a season in which he broke out while going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts across 151 2/3 innings and 29 starts.
The innings blew past his previous career-high and came after he missed most of 2022 and 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Boone said it was “tough to say” whether the lat injury was related to Gil’s heavy workload last year.
Go beyond the box score with the Bombers
Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.
Thank you
“It’s pitching, different things crop up,” Boone said. “It’s why we’ve put such a value in what these guys do and their throwing programs and when they start and how we’re real methodical with how they build up. I feel like we’ve started to turn a corner there, but it’s certainly one of the things that’s troubling in our game.”
Gil’s injury opens the door for Marcus Stroman to slot into the rotation after the veteran had entered camp looking like the odd man out.
For now, the rest of their starters have stayed mostly healthy, with Max Fried making his spring debut on Monday, Gerrit Cole scheduled to make his second start on Thursday, Carlos Rodon having made two starts already and Clarke Schmidt possibly getting into a game by next week after he was briefly slowed by a cranky back.
But Gil’s injury also shines a light on the Yankees’ depth, with Will Warren now representing the next man up if another starter goes down. Warren, who struggled across six outings in his first taste of the big leagues last year, has looked sharp so far this spring and will start again on Tuesday.
Behind him, the Yankees have veteran Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans in camp on non-roster deals. JT Brubaker was supposed to be another depth piece but he is currently rehabbing three broken ribs that he suffered in his spring opener trying to get out of the way of a comebacker.
