While watching the Yankees lose to the Houston Astros on Sunday, I made a bold pronouncement around the seventh inning.  I posted in a Facebook group that Luis Gil should be sent down to AAA, since the Yankees have a day off on Thursday and Carlos Rodon was returning soon (I also noted that it freed up a spot for a hitter to help with the Giancarlo Stanton injury).  Well, it looks like Brian Cashman read my comment, because soon after the game ended, Gil was on a plane to Scranton.  Given this major move, it’s time to think about what this means for Gil’s time in pinstripes and ask, like New Edition did, “Is this the end?”

Gil has had a long Yankee career

I actually thought the Yankees drafted Gil, but they didn’t.  The Yankees traded for Gil in March 2018 in exchange for outfielder Jake Cave.  Gil made his debut in pinstripes in 2021 and looked sharp in 6 games with 38 strikeouts in 29.1 innings and a 3.07 ERA.  His future looked bright, but then the injuries came.  Most of us fans forgot about Gil as a prospect until he re-emerged in 2024 and set the league on fire.  In May 2024, he started 6 games and pitched 38.2 innings.  He gave up just 14 hits and 3 runs while recording 44 strikeouts.  It’s not an understatement to say he was the best pitcher in all of baseball in early 2024.  Alas, he faded as the season went on, but he did still win the Rookie of the Year award.  Alas, the injury bug hit at the beginning of Spring Training, and he only pitched 57 innings in 2025, but with an ERA+ better than his rookie year (123 to 115).

This season has not gone as planned

Going into this season, the fanbase was very divided over Gil.  Some saw the 123 ERA+ coming off an injury and saw hope.  Others saw a 33 BB to 41 K pitcher who simply put too many runners on base.  In 2026, the pessimists were right.  In 19.1 innings, he has 11 BB and just 9 Ks.  He has an unsightly 6.05 ERA and an even worse 8.40 FIP, which tells you he has been lucky.  He has earned the demotion.

It was always unlikely he would remain in the rotation

The Yankees have a surplus of starting pitchers.  In addition to the opening day starting five.  They have Rodon and Gerrit Cole coming back (along with Clarke Schmidt, much later in the season), and they also have several minor league pitchers who could earn starts.  Wil Warren, Luis Gil, and Ryan Weathers were always going to have to fight to keep their rotation spots, and when Gil started the season in the minors, it meant he was very likely always going to be the odd man out.  

So “Is this the End?” for Luis Gil

Yes, and that is from someone who likes him.  Luis Gil is one of only three American League pitchers to win the Rookie of the Year award since Justin Verlander in 2006, and sadly, he is going to meet the fate of the other two (Gil has 4.4 career WAR, Michael Fulmer has a 12.5 career WAR, and Jeremy Hellickson had an 11.2 career WAR).  There simply is not enough room in the Yankees’ rotation for a guy with good, but inconsistent stuff.  A trade would be in his best interest and in the team’s best interest (some people claim he should have been traded after winning the Rookie of the Year award, but that has never happened), but at this stage, the Yankees shouldn’t expect much in return, such as a middle-inning reliever.  There is likely a team that believes they can fix Gil.  Gil will go down in Yankee history as a lesser version of Luis Severino.  It will be kind of like comparing Bobby Brown to Johnny Gill!