Luis Gil takes a significant step in his recovery
New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil faced hitters for the first time since suffering a lat strain during spring training. In a session that manager Aaron Boone described as “loose and easy,” Gil threw around 20 pitches. Two hours before the Yankees continued their three-game series against Baltimore, Gil struck out four, three of them swinging. Because several of the substitutes who would participate in the live sessions were in the lineup, Gil threw bullpen catcher Peter Serruto and information coordinator Ryan McLaughlin.The Yankees still don’t know how many more times Gil will face hitters before progressing to a rehab game. Boone hopes the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year can return by the end of July.“I felt like it looked really good,” Boone said. “I think it was 95, 96 miles an hour. It looked like that. The metrics on the four-seam fastball were really good and I thought he was in control of himself. So, free and easy.”
Aaron Boone, Yankees Manager
Gil cut short a bullpen session on February 28 due to a strain in his throwing shoulder. He went to New York for a second MRI that revealed a high-grade strain of the latissimus dorsi muscle on March 3. Gil was inactive for throwing for at least six weeks after receiving the original diagnosis, and at that time the Yankees said he would not return until June at the earliest. On April 16, the Yankees reported that Gil’s throwing program would be delayed about 10 days. “It’s important. Fortunately, after the setback, it’s been a slow recovery, but it’s gone well,” Boone said. “It feels like every step of the way. That’s been encouraging and now we start to build. We start to build lives, pitch counts and, eventually, participate in rehab games. So it’s definitely another important box to check.” The 26-year-old player, Gil, went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts for the American League East Division champions last year, striking out 171 and issuing a league-high 77 walks in 151 2/3 innings. Acquired from the Minnesota Twins in a 2018 trade, Gil made a successful return from Tommy John surgery and pitched eight more innings in a pair of postseason starts as the Yankees reached the World Series for the first time since 2009.“I felt really good out there,” Gil said through a translator. “It’s been a long process. You heal little by little. It was good to get on the mound and face some hitters.”
Luis Gil
