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New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil

These days, any news regarding a New York Yankees starting pitcher that doesn’t portend something of season-ending doom has to be celebrated. 

According to SNY-TV , Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters prior to Friday’s game against Pittsburgh that Luis Gil would be start a throwing program that was scheduled to begin in 7-10 days. Although Gil is still not expected to make his 2025 debut until sometime later this summer, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year will soon be making an important step forward in his recovery. 

The 26-year-old right-hander was shut down in early March with a high-grade lat strain, and he was initially expected to miss at least three months. While Boone’s update doesn’t accelerate Gil’s timeline for now, the fact that he’s set to resume throwing in about a week is an encouraging sign that he’ll be back in action this summer as anticipated. 

Luis Gil Close to Throwing in Return from High-Grade Lat Sprain

Gil displayed his potential in 2021, making six starts at the Major League level and posting a 3.07 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 29.1 innings pitched. But he made just one start for the Yankees in 2022 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of that year, and he missed all but two rehab games in ’23. 

Last season, Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts, with 171 strikeouts in 152.2 innings pitched. He won the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award for the AL by just five points, the closest vote since the Baseball Writers’ Association of American went to a three-player ballot in Rookie of the Year voting in 1980. Colton Cowser of the Baltimore Orioles was listed on one more ballot than Gil, who had two more first-place votes. 

Luis Gil 10th Yankee to Earn Rookie of the Year Award

The 2024 election marked the 10th time a Yankees player has earned the honor, the most by any American League club. Across the Majors, only the Los Angeles Dodgers have more winners, holding the overall record with 18 Rookie of the Year selections in the National League. 

The Yankees’ list of previous winners is a who’s who of franchise history: Gil McDougald (1951), Bob Grim (1954), Tony Kubek (1957), Tom Tresh (1962), Stan Bahnsen (1968), Thurman Munson (1970), Dave Righetti (1981), Derek Jeter (1996) and Aaron Judge (2017). 

Meanwhile, Gil became the fifth Dominican-born player to win the award and the second pitcher from the country to do so, joining Neftali Feliz (2010). Other Dominican winners include Alfredo Griffin (1979), Ángel Berroa (2003) and Julio Rodríguez (2022). 

Dave Benson Dave Benson is a longtime writer with over three decades of experience in a variety of mediums, including 15 years covering high school, collegiate and minor league sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Dave is also a licensed English teacher and spent a few years teaching at the middle school level. More about Dave Benson