HOUSTON — The Yankees decided they can’t afford waiting for aces Carlos Rodon or Gerrit Cole to finish up their rehabbing, not after Luis Gil flopped again.
A good start last week in Boston only bought Gil one more start, and it was another disappointing one on Sunday, six runs over 4-plus innings in a 7-4 Astros victory that ended the Yankees’ eight-game winning streak.
With Gil’s velocity down, the right-hander’s command inconsistent and swings-and-misses virtually nonexistent, the struggling 2024 American League Rookie of the Year is headed back to the minors.
A few minutes after the Yankees’ team buses pulled out of Daikin Park, they announced Gil had been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In four starts, he’s 1-2 with a team-worst 6.05 ERA.
“It’s a combination of not quite good enough command and the stuff not being as good as it is when Louie’s at his very best,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Add that up and he’s struggled to get that swing and miss.”
The Yankees could turn to one of their top pitching prospects — Elmer Rodriguez or Carlos Lagrange — to fill in as the fifth starter until Rodon returns. Neither has major league experience nor are they lined up to take Gil’s next turn against the Orioles on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
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Gil began the season in Triple-A with the Yankees going with a four-man rotation for two weeks. He returned and had two subpar starts before blanking the Red Sox on two hits for 6 1/3 innings last Tuesday at Fenway Park.
Five days later, Gil’s outing started with a leadoff walk to Carlos Correa and a two-out, first-inning homer by Christian Walker. Isaac Paredes hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 4-0 Houston, then Gil was knocked out after the Astros fifth began with a walk and double.
Gil’s fastball averaged 95 mph and touched 97, but that’s down a couple ticks from his 15-win rookie season in ’24. Against the Astros, he had three swings-and-misses in 83 pitches, two on sliders and one on a changeup. He didn’t strike anyone out for the first time in 51 career outings while allowing four hits, walking three and hitting a batter.
“When you’re in a slump, you’re definitely not going to get the results you want,” Gil said. “But I feel like if we keep working, God willing, the ERA is going to be where it needs to be and pitch execution is going to be there, and then we’ll get the results we want.”
It’s unknown if Gil still has a future with the Yankees, at least as a starter. Their rotation has been the best in the majors this season and it’ll get deeper soon with Rodon probably two minor-league starts away from returning from offseason elbow surgery and Cole due back from Tommy John surgery in May.
If Gil had been pitching well, he would have been a candidate to slide into a bullpen spot, but now he’ll probably be a starter with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a while. He probably won’t be a candidate to return in any role until he improves his velocity and command.
“That’s what we’ve been working on, to be more consistent executing a good fastball with good velo,” Gil said. “We’ve been working on that for a few days and it doesn’t stop.
“Obviously, when you have a little more velo, you can create more swing and miss. Little by little, I think I’m getting there. I’ve got to keep it working at it.”
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