Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced to the club’s beat last night that right-hander Luis Gil will be the club’s fifth starter to open the season, with Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relaying video of his comments on X. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports today that right-hander Clayton Beeter has made the club, though Sherman adds it’s possible that a roster move in the coming days could lead to Beeter getting optioned (X links). Boone also says infielder DJ LeMahieu will start the season on the injured list, with Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News among those to relay the news.
A spot opened up at the back of the Yankee rotation with the recent injury to ace Gerrit Cole, who underwent various tests on his right elbow. Cole was recommended for non-surgical rehab for nerve inflammation and edema. Though it was surely good news that surgery wasn’t being recommended, the club would still need to figure out a plan to proceed without him for an undetermined amount of time, perhaps months.
Without Cole, four spots were taken by Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt, leaving one open for a camp battle. As time went on, it seemed to come down to Gil and prospect Will Warren, with Gil getting the gig yesterday. Shortly after Boone announced Gil got the final spot, Warren was reassigned to minor league camp.
Gil, 26 in June, had an encouraging major league debut late in the 2021 season, as he posted an earned run average of 3.07 in six starts. He struck out a strong 29.5% of batters faced, though he also gave out free passes at a 14.7% rate. He would have been looking to build on that in 2022 but unfortunately landed on the injured list after just one start and eventually required Tommy John surgery in May. That put him out of action for the remainder of that season and most of 2023 as well. He returned to official game action in the minors leagues late last year, logging four innings in September.
That will likely leave Gil with some kind of workload limit here in 2024, since he hardly pitched over the past two years. In 2021, he logged 29 1/3 innings in the majors and 79 1/3 in the minors for a combined total of 108 2/3, his highest in any season thus far. He had a 3.97 ERA in those minor league innings that year. The minor leagues were canceled in 2020, meaning he wasn’t able to pitch in any official capacity.
Taking all of that into consideration, Gil shouldn’t be counted on to suddenly shoulder 200 innings this year, but the Yanks will stick with him as long he’s in good form and will presumably make a decision about the workload later. He posted a 2.87 ERA this spring with a 37.7% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate. In January, it was reported that the Yankees were awarded a fourth option on Gil, meaning they can send him to the minors at some point down the road.
Warren, 25 in June, is one of the club’s best pitching prospects. He threw 129 innings last year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 3.35 ERA, then had a 3.52 ERA here in spring action. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster, so it would have been a little bit trickier to pick him over Gil. But given his larger innings tally last year, he could be called upon later in the season if Gil needs to be shut down or if someone else gets hurt.
As for Beeter, 25, he’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. He was just added to the club’s roster in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He had a 3.62 ERA last year, over 131 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He struck out 28.8% of batters though had a concerning walk rate of 13.1%. He’ll break into the majors out of the bullpen, presumably providing the club some long relief innings alongside veteran Luke Weaver.
On the position player side of things, it was reported a week ago that LeMahieu was questionable for Opening Day after fouling a ball off his foot. It doesn’t seem as though it’s a terribly serious injury, but it’s enough to keep him from being available to start the season. Opening Day IL stints can be backdated by three days, so it’s possible he will just miss a week if he’s able to get over the issue in short order.
Though it may not be a long absence, it’s still not ideal for the 35-year-old to be dealing with an injury yet again. He dealt with quad and calf soreness last year and produced a roughly league average line of .243/.327/.390, wRC+ of 101. The Yanks would obviously love to have more, especially since LeMahieu hit .336/.386/.536 over 2019 and 2020. Boone said LeMahieu looked “more explosive” back in February, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, though he’s now once again hobbled by an unfortunate ailment.
In the meantime, Oswaldo Cabrera could step into the everyday third base role, which will leave open a bench role for someone like Jahmai Jones or Kevin Smith. Cabrera hit .247/.312/.429 in 2022 but then dropped to .211/.275/.299 last year, that latter line translating to a wRC+ of just 60. Smith isn’t on the 40-man roster but the Yanks could transfer Cole or Oswald Peraza to the 60-day injured list to open a spot. Peraza is going to be out of action for six to eight weeks due to a shoulder strain.
As clubs around the league cut down their rosters, there are plenty of guys getting cut loose who may pique the interest of the Yankees. As mentioned up top with Beeter, he could wind up getting optioned if the Yankees find a pitcher they like on waivers or someone entering free agency via a release or opt-out. The same could perhaps be true of their bench, as Cabrera steps in for LeMahieu.
W
If dude can somehow stay healthy for a full season he’s gonna be a problem for the league
Boone has said there isn’t an innings limit on Gil this year.
Beeter’s stuff is probably best suited for the pen in a role like King’s was.
Whatever Boone says, I imagine the opposite will occur,a la Costanza
Can’t argue with that Doc.
We know the Yankees Joe. Sad but true.
i fear no reprisals!
Haha… Gil absolutely needs an innings limit coming back from TJS. But I guess it’s moot once Cole comes back.
Sooooo, about that article regarding the Yankees, Jordan Montgomery, and two teams offering long-term……….
Gil looked awesome in ST though. He reminds me in many ways of Sevy. Go Gil!
Yeah… GL to Monty! I was thinking Warren but Gil it is.
Warren will eventually make his debut this season. Makes sense to stay with 2 guys already on the 40 when they need the flexibility to dance around these early injuries.
Guess they didn’t want Trevor.
Trevor Plouffe is co-hosting a podcast with Chris Rose. He’s also kinda old for MLB.
Thank you, Joe, THAT is funny! I’d imagine San Diego fan favorite and Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman is unavailable, as well.
Story from the Red Sox could be available.
Trevor Gott isn’t an option either as he is on the 60 day IL
May also retired. A Williams remains with the Nationals so there are options.
Same for Agent Bauers of 48hrs
He’s in Russia the last I heard but I’m confident a prisoner exchange can be worked out. Great show!
The Yanks truly need one more starter and a third baseman.
Saying that I Love Gil potential and Beeter could hold down the pen until Trevino and Effros are ready to return from long term injury. I think Bauer makes so much sense from a baseball standpoint where he will accept league minimum and if he causes any drama they can cut him. He would automatically become there top starter. Montgomery is someone I would also love back but he’s more of a mid rotation lefty that is looking for top of the rotation money and long term. I think he is going to sign as soon as the season starts which is beneficial to him but just not sure how Yanks can add him with payroll.
Cabrera doesn’t hit a coconut and is an automátic out like Stanton
I recently just heard he’s switching to batting lefty only depending on the match up. Not 100% dropping the switch hitting but i think he’s starting to try to! Prayers for him
Warren is a better option than Monty as people don’t understand this kid has 5 decent pitches and going to surprise many. He is a pitcher, not a thrower and reminds me of Maddux but of course not going to be anywhere near as good. Let the kids show what they can do as its inly a freaking baseball game and not life and death!
Trevor is a Diablo actually.
I don’t know why its not clear to some people here that nobody in the league wants Trevor Bauer. If they did, he’d be signed.
Just sign Montgomery or they will regret it and not have enough pitching
At this point, Montgomery is waiting for the season to start. Then he can sign a one year contract and not be subject to the QO next year.
False, it is after the ameutuer draft.
Nope, he can sign second day of season and not get a QO attached to him next offseason since he will spend less than a year on one team’s roster.
“After the amateur draft”…That’s the old rule. Under new rules, anyone not on a major league roster after day ONE is ineligible to receive a qualifying offer. Players no longer need to wait until after the draft to negate the QO.
@Wonder Under the new CBA once the season starts the player is no longer eligible for qualifying offer. A player “has ro spend entire season on roster”. Key word there being entire. I think this left a rule that’s easy to manipulate. But I supise the Owners have their owns rules allowing manipulation as JD Davis found out
Yankees staf pitching is a Joke
Regardless of what Boone says, I wonder if they’ll use a Gil/Beeter combo in that rotation spot as a way to limit innings. You don’t want to overextended Gill too soon. I liked what saw of Gil before he got injured and legit feel like he can hold his own, hoping it happens!
Gil will get 100 innings this year via 8-10 starts and rest in bullpen.
I wouldn’t put much stock in what Boone says. He’s the last one on the list to know anything he’s the Costanza of sports whenever he says, the exact opposite will occur.
Just Beet it.
Without Cole and assuming no other major injuries, it’s still an 85-88W team at best.
Nah
89 seems possible
84
Over 90
Not seeing it unless Rodon is unhittable in a good way.
The Yankees won 82 games last year, with Judge missing 42 games. Juan Soto put up 5.5 WAR last year and is projected for a 6.4 WAR this year. I think that assuming no other major injuries this team could easily win 8-10 more games than last year.
Okay, except you’ve just taken a 7.4 WAR, innings-eating pitcher out of the rotation with no guarantee of a return date, which could quickly compound into an overworked bullpen (which Aaron Boone is fond of doing anyways…). WAR should come with one of the warnings like you see on investment commercials: past results do not guarantee future earnings.
That is probably true in most cases, but we got Juan freaking Soto!
I guess no Trevor Bauer or Monty signings are on the horizon for the Yankees!!!
Nice to see all the Bauer lunatics here going out with a whimper…
Good riddance.
Lunatic? Lunatic?
Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder!”
Monty won’t sign until after the season starts. Then he can sign a one year contract and not be subject to the QO next year.
Monty cost himself some major bread by doing what he did and he won’t pitch until May
Cashman has my vote for Executive of the Year, but then again, Im not a Yankee fan.
Cash Man Has Blank Check Taken Away
The check is not blank, but still pretty high.
Cash is just a yes man….he neve had the check.book..Cheap Skate Hal is on the floor looking for his lost beans.
Lol at Yankee fans. Overrated team as usual. Will finish at least 12 games behind Baltimore. Will be in the mid 80s with Tampa and Toronto
Mid 80s is still a wildcard contender.
Wow. 10 trillion dollar payroll for “in the hunt for a wild card”
Red Sox will be lucky if they win 80 this year.
Why are you loling at US? We didn’t construct this team and absolutely no one (but Cashman, and it’s his job) is overrating it. Heck we’ve complained the loudest here…I mean we are New Yorkers after all.
I’ll tell you what though, if this team can stay competitive enough and everything breaks right, I’m confident Cashman WILL make a trade at the deadline to upgrade wherever needed. With the Soto-Judge thump and hopefully a healthy Cole that could make us dangerous in a short series.
And there you go, if you want to overate us on anything it’s blind confidence, hope, and belief.
Do we really live in a world where “loling”passes the eye test as a real word ?
Lord help us all.
Yo if lol can be used, loling is on the table. Also internet is not the real world. In the real world, we’d just actually laugh out loud, reply “why you laughing, bro,” followed by fists, backdrops, and special glasses being put on forcibly and seeing the real REAL world. Wait…
I can’t keep up with them all but there have been a boatload of new “intenet words and memes” which have been officially added to the Oxford English and Merriam-Webster Dictionaries. It is the real world.
Seems pretty girly to me.
Call me old school but LOL & loling should probably be confined to tween girl use. Not grown ass men. Just my opinion, no telling who you are.
Haha… you are old school – respectfully. I’ll get there one day and have similar complaints. “When I was your age.., This world is going in the toilet…, You kids…, etc.”
I’m almost 50 here and um I dunno, rolling with the times isn’t so hard. Kinda seems natural.
I roll with most but gotta draw the line somewhere. Otherwise I would lose my self respect, when I’m 64….
You forgot GET OFF MY LAWN !
If we had blind confidence, belief and Hope, we wouldn’t be complaining all the time about the construction of this team
Come on, don’t be a Mets fan and say you believe but do not. We were raised differently. Trust the system.
if only gio urshela had been available for 1.5M
wait…
Cashman just had to have Josh Donaldson 2 years ago. Biggest headline of his brief career in pinstripes was making Tim “Glass Jaw” Anderson mad.
There goes any chance of signing Montgomery
He’s probly gonna end up playing for the diablo de los rojas this yr
Johnny Utah, Bauer is an El Rojo Diablo at this moment but Gumby will land with the Las Rojas Medias.
Off this subject I am getting excited mlb top 100 prospect who is only 19 yr old and a stud SS Arias who has been hitting the cover off the ball in all his games started. This kid is a true 5 star talent and has Yankees future SS written all over him that at some point pushes Volpe over to 2B possibly as soon as 2026. This kid is just insane and smooth.
Looks like there will be no more big free agent splashes for the Yankees for now. Going with the kids.
I was hoping to see Warren get the job but I’ll keep an open mind about Gil. I still think his long term role is in the bullpen though
This is like when Bubba Crosby was announced as the starting CF. Guy we would start if we weren’t going to sign someone else is not the same as starter, and it seems a little mean to pretend otherwise for leverage.
No one person will hold down the 5th rotation spot. Multiple arms will rotate through while they await Cole’s return.
With Cashman trading away competent and better pitching as if it grows on trees, the Yankees are beginning 2024 with exactly ONE starter in the rotation who had a modestly successful 2023 (4.50 ERA or better and 10 or more starts): Marcus Stroman.
Extraorinary, really.
Please launch a rebuild after Soto walks