Luis Gil is back.
The right-handed pitcher was one of the 2024 Yankees’ best stories en route to to the team’s World Series berth. Tommy John surgery and a slow recovery had limited Gil to one MLB start across 2022-23 after his promising cup of coffee in late 2021, but ace Gerrit Cole’s elbow injury in spring training 2024 opened up a spot in the big-league rotation, which the Yankees gave to Gil. He had impressed them enough in camp to roll the dice on him rather than fellow rookie Will Warren, who
had been healthy in 2023.
Gil was nothing short of brilliant across the first two and a half months of the season, carrying a 2.03 ERA and 3.08 FIP into mid-June with 96 strikeouts in 80 innings. He slowed down in the second half as the league adjusted and the fatigue of a full season after all that time away set in some, but he ended 2024 with a 3.50 ERA, 4.14 FIP, and 171 strikeouts, tied for the most among American League rookies. As a result, Gil narrowly edged out Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser for the AL Rookie of the Year.
There was no denying that there was still room for Gil to grow—and master the strike zone a little bit more—but future ace potential was clearly there. The Yankees were so enamored with him that they reportedly refused to include him in a possible trade with the Astros for star rental Kyle Tucker.
The excitement for Gil’s follow-up was dissipated in a hurry in March 2025. He suffered a lat injury, and the slow recovery process (as well as the need for essentially a new spring training ramp-up) meant that it took until now for him to be ready to return to a big-league mound. He threw four rehab starts in the minors during July before the Yankees deemed him good to go. The 27-year-old will start this afternoon in Miami, hoping to help New York avoid an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Marlins.
Gil is taking the released Marcus Stroman’s spot in the starting rotation, but since that roster move occurred on Friday, they still needed to make another move to clear a place on the pitching staff for him. The logical choice (assuming health) would have been either optioning Brent Headrick designating JT Brubaker for assignment. Instead, the decision was answered by that parenthetical. An injury has indeed opened up a spot on the Yankees’ staff, and it’s unfortunately a familiar name: righty reliever Jonathan Loáisiga.
Prior to today’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) August 3, 2025
•Returned RHP Luis Gil (#81) from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the 60-day injured list.
•Placed RHP Jonathan Loáisiga on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to 8/2) with right mid back…
It’s a tale as old as time for Loáisiga. This was once someone who threw an elite season out of the bullpen, spinning a 2.17 ERA, 2.58 FIP, and 1.017 WHIP across 57 games and 70.2 innings in 2021. But he had battled injuries before and he’s battled injuries ever since, with elbow surgery notably knocking him out in April 2024.
The Yankees chose to re-sign Loáisiga this past offseason to a one-year, $5 million deal with a $5 million team option for 2026, hoping that he could at least be a solid middle reliever. That hasn’t come to pass. In 30 games since debuting in mid-May, he has a 4.70 ERA and 5.80 FIP. Most concerning is the fact that he’s allowed seven home runs in 29.2 innings when he had previously allowed a combined eight from all of 2021-24 (140.1 innings). The past month alone had been especially tough, with a 5.06 ERA across 12 games, with three homers on his ledger.
Was another injury bothering Loáisiga all along? Who knows, but he has ultimately landed on the shelf once again. Back tightness has him on the 15-day IL. It’s too early to say if Loáisiga will be back when eligible during the final stretch of August, or if the Yankees will simply push it a bit to September, when rosters expand. Goodness knows that Loáisiga is a man who needs to take his time recovery anyway.
For those curious, here’s how the active pitching staff looks now:
SP Max Fried*
SP Carlos Rodón*
SP Cam Schlittler
SP Luis Gil
SP Will Warren
RP Devin Williams
RP Luke Weaver
RP David Bednar
RP Camilo Doval
RP Jake Bird
RP Tim Hill*
RP Brent Headrick*
RP JT Brubaker
* = lefty
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