Yankees believe Luis Gil can build on last start, be productive piece in rotation

The Yankees had to address many needs as they went into the July 31 MLB trading deadline, and they did so with most of them.

The acquisition of Ryan McMahon made them better defensively  at third base. The additions of David Bednar and Camilo Doval lengthened and strengthened the bullpen. Bringing in Jose Caballero and Austin Slater gave them a better and more diversified bench.   

They didn’t acquire a starting pitcher, though, and whether that proves costly might depend on how righthander Luis Gil performs down the stretch now that he is back in the rotation. If Gil is the guy who was the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year after going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA, that would be a pretty significant addition.

Gil, who will start the opening game of the three-game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis on Friday, was asked if he thinks he can be that kind of difference-maker for the team. He replied through an interpreter: “When you look around, this is a team [where] if we’re all chipping in and all doing our job, I think we’re going to get where we want to be.”

He has made only two starts since returning after missing more than four months with a lat strain, but his progression from the first to the second makes the chances of his becoming that difference-maker look promising.

He was roughed up for five runs in 3 1⁄3 innings in his return on Aug. 3 in a loss at Miami, but in Saturday’s win over Houston at the Stadium, he allowed two runs in 5 1⁄3 innings and threw 91 pitches.

“Night-and-day difference,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Miami was a struggle. [He] just never really got settled [and] strike-throwing wasn’t there. That just improved a lot. [His] stuff’s been good — even [in] Miami — [and] again, his stuff was good against Houston.

“I thought most secondary pitches were a factor and solid for him, the change and the slider, and the fastball was really playing, too,” Boone added. “So he pitched into the sixth inning there. Just coming off a first one that was rough and bouncing back and being more efficient was big.”

Asked what he thinks the biggest difference was against the Astros, Gil replied, “I would say the fastball command — and I just commanded [the other] pitches better.”

Gil thinks he will continue to trend upward, and he feels more and more like the 2024 version that so impressed.

“I feel pretty good, but you still want to get to that level where you feel 100%,” he said. “It’s one step at a time and you’ve got to keep going.”

The inability of Yankees starters to last deep into games has taxed the relief pitchers, which was one of the reasons the club made trades for bullpen help. In the first two games of the series against Minnesota, both wins, Will Warren pitched into the seventh inning and Carlos Rodon completed seven innings.

After Rodon’s performance, Boone said two consecutive deep outings were “big.”

“You don’t need them every night, but these are outings you need,” he said. “[They] really allow the bullpen to be what they should be and I think they can be really, really dynamic back there.”

Gil pitched more than five innings 15 times and at least six innings 10 times last season, and he knows that if he can give the club that in the 41-game drive toward a postseason berth, it could be beneficial all around.

“When you talk about starters taking the game deep consistently, that allows for the bullpen to be put together in the most efficient way,” he said. “It’s what baseball is all about.”

Goldschmidt IL decision

The Yankees could have a decision Friday on whether first baseman Paul Goldschmidt requires a stint on the injured list.

He hurt his right knee in Tuesday’s win over the Twins when he caught a drifting foul pop-up in front of the home dugout. He tweaked it at the last minute when the ball sliced back toward the infield and he moved gingerly as he returned to his position. He was able to finish the game but was diagnosed Wednesday with a mild sprain.

Goldschmidt has been a big weapon against lefthanded pitching with a .404/.476/.716 slash line. The Cardinals have three righthanded starters scheduled for the series and only one lefthanded relief pitcher, so there could be an opportunity for him to rest and avoid the IL.

“If it is a short-term thing, then I feel really good about that,” he said. “And it could also be even shorter term, [just] a day or so, too.”

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.