As they get ready for their defense of their American League pennant and aim for a second straight trip to the World Series, the New York Yankees are off to a difficult start. One top pitching prospect, Chase Hampton, has already seen his season come to a screeching halt thanks to an elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery.
Another starter, Clarke Schmidt, is projected to hold down the back end of the starting rotation. But now Schmidt has come down with what manager Aaron Boone has described as a “cranky back.” Another pitching prospect, Clayton Beeter, is struggling with a shoulder injury.
The Yankees are enduring a string of injuries to position players as well, including to designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton whose seven home runs in the 2024 postseason propelled the Yankees to the World Series.
But perhaps the most worrying bad news of all surfaced on Friday when the Yankees learned that the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, righty Luis Gil â who was slated to fill the No. 3 starter spot after New York’s twin aces righty Gerrit Cole and newly signed $218 million southpaw Max Fried â could also now be a scratch from the Opening Day roster, throwing the New York starting rotation into uncertainty.
Rookie of the Year Shut Down Due to Shoulder
Gil was throwing a bullpen session on Friday when he reported experiencing what Boone said was “tightness near his right shoulder,” according to a report by the New York Post.
Gil, a 26-year-old native of Azua, Dominican Republic, was cut from the Yankees roster coming out of spring training in 2024, but was quickly recalled due to an injury to Cole. Gil proceeded to start 29 games for the Bronx Bombers, winning 15 and losing seven with a solid 3.50 ERA. He allowed just a .189 opponents’ batting average.
But on Friday, Gil removed himself from his side session just “a couple of pitches in,” Boone said, a development the manager deemed “concerning.”
Gil is now scheduled for an MRI exam on Saturday to determine if there is any structural damage to the shoulder. But the injury is, in any event, a setback for the Yankees starting rotation to say the least.
âYou know youâre going to face some attrition somewhere,â Boone said, as quoted by MLB.com. âHopefully itâs not something too serious, but it also feels like something thatâs going to cost us some time there. Weâll see what we have.â
Gil Injury Opens Door for Marcus Stroman
What they have is Marcus Stroman, who has at least one year left on his contract at a paycheck of $18.3 million. After a solid start in his first season as a Yankee, Stroman fell apart after the All-Star break, with a 5.98 ERA compared to a 3.51 mark before the break.
Stroman saw no action at all in the Yankees’ postseason run. As a result, Stroman has been the subject of trade speculation since the 2024 season ended. But so far there have been no takers.
“As frustrating as Stroman’s performance was during the second half of 2024, he’s still a good pitcher who can give you quality innings,” wrote Emma Lingan of Fansided on Friday. “Hopefully he can perform well and rebuild his trade value to give the Yankees the best of both worlds.”
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