The New York Yankees will begin their 2026 season with a four-man rotation as they have several off days until April 11th. They will carry a starting rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers.
This means Luis Gil will be left out of the starting rotation and has been optioned to Triple-A to begin the season. The Yankees have decided to carry three additional bullpen arms rather than have Gil in the bullpen.
On Tuesday, news broke of the decision to have Gil sent to the minors without his need in the rotation for now (h/t Pete Caldera, USA Today). Gil has had an up and down spring with his worst outing coming against the Detroit Tigers when he allowed 7 earned runs on 9 hits with 3 home runs allowed.
The Yankees will instead carry Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest from the St. Louis Cardinals, Jake Bird, and Brent Headrick. Bird and Hendrick had strong springs while Winquest struggled but he has to be on the 26-man roster all year if the Yankees want to keep him.
After his worst outing of the spring against the Tigers, he bounced back against the Baltimore Orioles striking out 7 across 5 innings pitched, showing off his electric fastball. Ultimately the Yankees decided to have Ryan Weathers as the fourth starter who they acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins in January.
Weathers has also had a rough spring pitching to a 11.68 ERA in 12 and 1/3 innings but the Yankees seem more confident in him as they decided to give him a rotation spot. It is disappointing news for Gil but this allows him to get several starts at Triple-A before he's needed in the rotation.

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Gil was traded to the Yankees in 2018 from the Minnesota Twins for former outfielder Jake Cave. He went on to make his MLB debut in 2021 and impressed in a limited showing but dealt with injuries and required Tommy John surgery which caused him to miss a good portion of 2022 and all of the 2023 Season.
He rebounded in 2024 posting a 15-7 record, 3.50 ERA, 29 starts and 171 strikeouts in 151 and 2/3 innings pitched winning the Rookie of the Year award. He then suffered a lat Strain during spring training in 2025 and missed several months of the season.
In 2025 he posted a 4-1 record, 3.32 ERA, 11 games and 41 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched. Despite the injury, his strikeout numbers had declined significantly and he struggled with control walking too many batters.
Gil will head to Triple-A to work on his control and be prepared whenever his next start comes with the Yankees.
