Yankees Must Decide How to Handle Struggling Star Rookie

The New York Yankees have a young starting pitcher who has a hit a wall his last few starts.

Jun 20, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil (81) leaves the mound during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees fell to second place in the American League East with a 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, and their young rookie star pitcher had another rough outing.

The 26-year-old Luis Gil has struggled mightily in his last three starts, taking three straight losses while failing to reach five innings in any of them. In this span, he has labored through 9.2 innings, walking nine batters, and giving up 16 earned runs.

In 2022, Gil required Tommy John Surgery and made just one start with the Yankees. Pitching coach Matt Blake said that they don't have a specific number of innings that Gil is limited to this season, but also didn't rule him out for a switch to the bullpen in an interview on Foul Territory on June 11.

"Trying to find the best balance for the group," Blake said on Foul Territory. "Is it in the bullpen? Is it a timeout at some point? I don't know if we have those answers but taking as many steps going forward and getting as much information as possible is our best bet."

Right-handed starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt threw off flat ground on Tuesday, as manager Aaron Boone shared. Schmidt is recovering from a lat injury and was transferred to the 60-Day IL on June 18, but is still retroactive to May 27.

Whenever Schmidt returns to the Yankees' starting rotation, it will be much easier to push Gil to the bullpen. A move to the 'pen could help Gil be more effective down the stretch and help lower his workload tremendously. The Yankees could also let Gil make his scheduled starts until the All-Star break and reassess in the second half. By that time, Schmidt could be nearing a return. It also helps that ace Gerrit Cole is now back from his elbow injury as well.

Gil was signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Minnesota Twins in 2015 and was traded to the Yankees before the 2016 season for outfielder Jake Cave. This is Gil's first full season in the majors. He has racked up 102 strikeouts across 89.2 innings with an ERA of 3.41. He is rapidly approaching his career-high in innings (108.2) combined with the Yankees and two Minor League affiliates, the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and the Double-A Somerset Patriots in 2021.

Gil was electric in his first 12 starts of the season with 85 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.82. He was the clear-cut favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year and was even in consideration to start the All-Star game for the AL at said point. Now it seems like he has hit a major rookie wall.

With the Yankees trailing the Baltimore Orioles by one game in the AL East they will need the best version of Gil to win the division. Whether this comes in the rotation or the bullpen remains to be seen.