'That was 2024 Luis Gil right there': Righty dominates in final spring start

TAMPA, Fla. – Luis Gil returned to the drawing board to rescue his sluggish spring. The Yankees right-hander might have turned the clock back, too.

“That was 2024 Luis Gil right there,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees’ 3-1 Grapefruit League victory over the Orioles on Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “It was great to see.”

Flashing a fastball that touched 98.8 mph and sat at 96.8, Gil handcuffed Baltimore over five scoreless innings, permitting one hit – a Pete Alonso double – with one walk and seven strikeouts.

It was an encouraging response from Gil, who was thumped for seven runs and nine hits over three innings on Sunday against the Tigers. Between outings, Gil worked on mechanical adjustments, including his release point.

“The thing that I feel happiest about is how everything has come together right now,” Gil said through interpreter Marlon Abreu. “It’s at the right time. We’re getting ready to start the season. I’m very happy with how I feel, being back to where I feel like myself.”

Limited to 11 starts last season due to a high-grade right lat strain sustained in early March, Gil has said he hopes to replicate or exceed his 2024 performance. That year, he was 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts, bringing home the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

Though the Yankees said Gil’s metrics suggested better results were ahead – Boone pointed to weight room data that showed “some of the best physical numbers he’s had” – they had been waiting for it to show up on the field.

It did on Friday.

“Spring Training is a time where you’re polishing certain things,” Gil said. “You’re trying certain things with your pitches. Mechanically, you’re trying certain things. The point of it is to get ready for a long season.”

Boone said the Yankees have not yet determined if they will open with a five-man rotation, given four early off-days. Only Max Fried and Cam Schlittler have been announced thus far, though Will Warren and Ryan Weathers appear in line to start games three and four, respectively.

“We’ll certainly continue that conversation,” Boone said.

Weathers report
Weathers knows how the stat line looks. The Blue Jays tagged him for seven runs and eight hits over three innings in the Yankees' 11-0 split-squad loss Thursday in Dunedin, Fla., including a George Springer grand slam that swelled his spring ERA to 11.68.

But Weathers also believes he has pitched better than that – and he has numbers to support it.

“I gave up four broken-bat singles and the highest exit velo was 60 miles an hour,” Weathers said. “It’s tough when your average launch angle given up is -2. My job is, I’ve got to keep pitching. It’s not concerning to me whatsoever.

“ … I don’t want to go out there and have my last two outings how they’ve been. But I also have to give myself a little bit of grace. I think my ground-ball rate in the spring is over 60% right now. I think that bodes well for me going into the season.”

Acquired from the Marlins in January, Weathers will make his final spring start on Tuesday against the Cubs in Arizona. Boone said Carlos Lagrange, the club’s No. 2 prospect, will start Monday’s exhibition against the Cubs.

“I think it’ll be good for him to go with us,” Boone said of Lagrange, who was reassigned to Minor League camp on Thursday.

Prospects honored
Outfielder Spencer Jones and right-hander Elmer Rodríguez were named the recipients of the 2025 Kevin Lawn Awards for Yankees Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Both players are slated to begin the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Jones, New York's No. 6 prospect, slashed .274/.362/.571 with 35 home runs, 80 RBIs and 29 stolen bases in 116 combined games with Double-A Somerset and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, leading all Yankees farmhands in homers and runs scored (102).

Rodríguez, the Yankees' No. 3 prospect, posted an 11-8 record and a 2.58 ERA in 27 combined games (26 starts) at three levels. His 176 strikeouts ranked second among all Minor League pitchers.

“We feel like he is a guy that is going to be a really good starter in this league,” Boone said.