Aaron Boone gives surprisingly tepid Luis Gil endorsement after latest Yankees implosion

After his recent start against the Phillies, Luis Gil declared that, entering a full year uncompromised by rehab or an active injury buildup, he'd prepared as if he was about to have his greatest season yet. In order to do that, he's going to need to get more than one singular whiff on his fastball in a two-start span.

Gil toed the rubber on Sunday against the Tigers and proved that okay, yeah, I guess predictive metrics actually do matter. If enough data sets say your hittable fastball and sketchy command will be your downfall, then eventually there's a start in there where you allow seven runs on three homers before being chased off the rubber and into purgatory.

Now, with just over a week to go before the Yankees' Opening Day/Night Netflix showdown in San Francisco, Aaron Boone has to reckon with the fact that, without Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, there isn't really an easy spot to bury Gil if he continues to struggle to harness the fastball electricity that he initially rode to his 2024 peak.

Well ... there isn't an easy long-term spot, at least. In the short-term, Boone can skip him during his first turn through the rotation. And after the least ringing endorsement of all time on Sunday, it certainly sounds like that's what he intends to do.

Where does Luis Gil fit into Yankees' rotation after Aaron Boone's weak endorsement?

So, for those keeping score at home, his rotation spot isn't in peril with a week to go before Opening Day, but there's no chance he'll be used in a starter's role over the course of the season's first nine games, when the schedule affords them an opportunity to skip the No. 5 spot. Could he be Cam Schlittler's caddy in Game 2? The world would really like to know.

In the meantime, while it's less than ideal to opt for stability over upside, there's still a chance that one of Ryan Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn can take Gil's turn through the rotation early. Carlos Lagrange, the high-potency option, will also be waiting in the wings.

Gil, who felt like an afterthought throughout most of 2025 as he worked his way back from a spring lat issue that torpedoed his bounce back, landed in the spotlight this spring after the Yankees focused their offseason energy elsewhere. As Boone essentially stated on Sunday, there isn't much the Yankees can do to bump him from their current top five. But he's going to do everything possible to minimize his impact early as he valiantly tries to recapture the magic that may have permanently dissipated (against everyone but Boston).